Glossary
Gaglioppo
The southern Italian red grape variety Gaglioppo originates from Calabria. The grapes are used to make wines rich in body and alcohol.
The most famous wine made from the Gaglioppo is the red and pink Cirò, which is surrounded by the legend that Roman athletes in ancient times were rewarded with this wine after their successful participation in the Olympic Games.
Gamay
The Gamay is often jokingly called the "fastest grape variety in the world". The red variety sprouts early, ripens very early and bears plenty of fruit if not prevented from doing so. His Primeur wines are usually the first wines of the new vintage to appear on the market in October or November.
Outside France, the main cultivation area, the Gamay is an alpinist. In the Italian Valle d'Aosta he climbed some very high vineyards to produce fruity and lively red wines.
gamberetto
Italian for crab.
gambero
Italian for crab, shrimp.
Garganega
The white Garganega variety is mainly found in Veneto and is considered one of the main varieties for the Soave. In this wine it is usually blended with about 20 percent Trebbiano di Soave. The Garganega is used for quality wines as well as for single-variety wines.
garnet
Typical colour of great red wines intended for long aging.
Gattinara
Gattinara is a local red grape variety around the homonymous wine-growing village in the southwest of Lake Maggiore in Piedmont in northern Italy.
The Gattinara must be aged for four years before sale, at least two years in wooden barrels. It can then continue to mature in the bottle for at least a decade. A wine that can compete with the best Nebbiolo wines.
Gewürztraminer
The Gewürztraminer (Traminer Aromàtico) is a high-quality white grape variety that is also widespread in Italy. There, however, cultivation is limited to South Tyrol, where earlier harvesting and cooler ripening conditions produce lighter, fresher wines with more acidity. The Gewürztraminer is a mutation of the Traminer, which, according to some ampelographers, is identical to the Savagnin from the French Jura.
The name of the grape variety derives from the intense aromas and spices of the wine. The Gewürztraminer differs from the Traminer purely externally in the colour of the berries. In the Traminer, they are a strong green, in the Gewürztraminer, however, they are reddish in colour. For this reason the Gewürztraminer is also called the Red Traminer. In the vineyard the Gewürztraminer is rather problematic: it sprouts early, its resistance to diseases is quite low, the berries are small and the yields low.
The wines produced from it are deep golden - occasionally with copper reflections - and spread a heavy rosy scent. In addition, the Gewürztraminer also exalts other smells, which are commonly described as the scent of melons, peaches and apricots, but also of spices, ginger and exotic lychee fruits.
Glera
When the Venetians go on a "shadow" in between, they mean a small glass of white wine, an "ombra", as shadow is called in Venetian. Because in former times the winegrowers came with a small barrel and placed themselves with it under the arcades in the shade, which they followed with the sun position then also, so that the wine remained cool. Already at that time they gave wine from the grape variety Glera, which was still called Prosecco at that time. By the way, this had nothing to do with dry (secco), as one might assume, but with a small village near Trieste, where one once suspected the origin of the variety. The grape variety was only renamed a few years ago, after Prosecco became the worldwide epitome of all possible and mostly highly banal "sparkling mineral water".
Prosecco is now a protected designation of origin and may only come from the legally defined growing areas. As "Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG" from 15 municipalities around Conegliano and Valdobbiadene in Veneto and as DOC Prosecco from nine provinces in two regions: Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. The grape variety in these protected wines is now called Glera. In addition to the sparkling wines, there is also still still wine, i.e. "normal" white wine from this grape variety, but as Ombra it has become rare even in Venice's Bacari, the tiny wine bars.
Although the renaming is good for the protection of Prosecco as a wine, there was some confusion because as Prosecco there were three different grape varieties - Prosecco tondo with round berries (this is the one that is best for sparkling wines), Prosecco lungo with elongated berries and Prosecco nostrano, which is actually Malvasia. In all these studies it was discovered that some Croatian and Slovenian grape varieties are identical or related. The former Danube monarchy in the vineyard, today separated by later demarcation, is reunited by DNA analysis.
2010, more than 18,000 hectares of Glera were recorded in Italy. This is about twice as much as in 1990. It can be assumed that the trend will continue to rise because the triumph of the "original" Prosecco is unchecked. There are still small areas under cultivation in Slovenia, Croatia, Argentina and Brazil.
golden
Colour of white wines rich in body and structure, mostly aged in wooden barrels.
gorgonzola
Fine mushroom cheese made from cow's milk. Its typical, pungent, unmistakable taste and creamy consistency make it an ideal ingredient for spicy pasta.
goudron
Tea-like smell, typical of long matured great red wines, a component of the bouquet.
Gradazione Alcoolica
Italian term for the alcohol content.
Gran Selezione
After three years of conceptual work, it is finally certain in 2014: the wine producers in Chianti Classico have given the green light for a new classification model in three stages. At the top of the quality pyramid of Gallo Nero now stands the Gran Selezione. Riserva ranks first, followed by vintage wine (Annata). With the expansion of the quality pyramid, the Italian cultivation area between Siena and Florence has experienced a noticeable upgrading. The purpose of the new regulation is to better distinguish between all the tassels available in Chianti Classico in the future. In order to be able to meet the legally manifested new quality class, the wines must mature for at least 30 months - of which a quarter in the bottle - before they are sold. They may only consist of grapes from the vineyards of a winery or from the best grapes of that winery. Organoleptically, i.e. after an examination exclusively by human sensory organs, the wines declared as Gran Selezione should possess the characteristics of a truly high-class product. A peculiarity: a Chianti presented for the Gran Selezione but which does not obtain this classification is automatically downgraded to a DOCG wine without the addition of Riserva. It is therefore likely that those goods which are fully convinced of the quality of their wines will strive for the highest category.
Grana padano
The indispensable pasta cheese is closely related to Parmesan cheese in form, colour and taste. It is produced all over Northern Italy. This mature hard cheese is ideal for grating and can be used like Parmesan cheese.
granite
Soil type - solidification rock, produces wines with a mineral appearance.
grape marc
Name for the fire made from pressed residues. In Italy it's the grappa.
grape variety
Type of vine and thus the grapes from which a particular wine was made.
Grecanico Dorato
Grecanico Dorato is a local white grape variety cultivated in Sicily.
grechetto
Grechetto is probably of Greek origin and is one of the most important white grape varieties cultivated in Umbria.
It produces full-bodied wines with a nutty aroma. In Tuscany the Grechetto is known as Pulcinculo and in Latium as Greghetto.
Greco
Greco is an ancient southern Italian white wine variety whose origin goes back to the Greek colonisation of southern Italy about 2500 years ago.
Today she is responsible for some of the best white wines in southern Italy. Greco is also grown to a lesser extent in Piedmont, where it is used to make Greco Bianco delle Colline Novaresi. In Campania, the Greco grape produces the excellent Greco di Tufo - a strong, fruity white wine from the province of Avellino. In Calabria, the variety participates in the powerful white Cirò and is responsible for the Greco di Bianco, one of the best liqueur wines in Italy.
greenish
The wine gets its green colour from the chlorophyll contained in the grapes. Young white wines and wines from the north are characterised by a greenish colour.
Grey Burgundy
The grey Burgundy - also called Ruländer, Pinot Gris, Malvoisie - is a mutation of the blue Spätburgunder. The Pinot Grigio variety, with 3500 hectares, is very widespread in northern Italy, especially in South Tyrol, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and to a lesser extent in Lombardy. The white grapes there are traditionally harvested earlier than north of the Alps, so that fresher, more fruity wines with more acidity are produced. Disadvantage: The reputation of Pinot Grigio suffers from the fact that it is all too often produced and offered as a cheap and often boring mass wine. Pinot Grigio is a rather undemanding grape variety that produces good yields and grapes with high must weights. It is not susceptible to disease and hardly sensitive to frost. The vines thrive particularly well on loess terraces, but also on calcareous soils and stony subsoils. Cooler, loamy soils, on the other hand, are less suitable for cultivating the Grey Burgundy. Depending on the ageing method and quality level, the colour palette of the wines ranges from pale yellow to golden yellow to deep amber. The range of aromas is generally compared with those of green nuts, almonds, fresh butter to fruity notes such as pear, dried fruit, pineapple, citrus fruits and - in particularly mature wines - banana and exotic fruits. Harvested early, the Pinot Gris produces harmonious, fruity wines with crisp acidity. With fully ripened grapes, rapid acid degradation sets in. Dry late vintages, which can reach up to 14.5 percent alcohol by volume, are then usually mild in acidity and rich in acidity to lig in the body. The best of these wines are often aged in barriques and exude an almost wasteful richness.
Grignolino
Behind the name Grignolino is a high-quality northern Italian red wine variety, which is mainly cultivated in Piedmont. It produces relatively light, racy and elegant red wines with a typical varietal bouquet. The berry skins contain only a few colourings, so that Grignolino wines are hardly darker than many southern Italian Rosato wines, despite thorough maceration.
Grillo
The white grillogrape is mostly cultivated in Sicily. The taste underlines the characteristics of volcanic floors. She produces extract-rich wines with a citrus bouquet. It used to be the preferred base for Marsala.
Groppello
The northern Italian red wine vine Groppello is cultivated in Lombardy on the western shore of Lake Garda. It produces independent fresh and fruity red and rosé wines.
grosso
Italian: tall, fat.
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gusto
Italian: taste.