Glossary
UGA
The 11 major vineyards of Chianti Classico. UGA stands for Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive (supplementary geographical unit). It describes the specific vineyard designations in Chianti Classico. The area is located in the centre of Tuscany and, at 70,000 hectares, covers around a third of the region. The boundaries of the growing area, which stretches between Florence and Siena, were established as early as 1716. The Sangiovese grape variety in particular thrives in the vineyards.
A total of eleven large vineyards were defined in 2021: Castellina, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Gaiole, Greve, Lamole, Montefioralle, Panzano, Radda, San Casciano, San Donato in Poggio (including Barberino Tavarnelle and Poggibonsi) and Vagliagli. From July 2023, Chianti Classico producers will be allowed to use the additional geographical indications on the labels of the highest category ‘Gran Selezione’. The official vineyard designations were established after years of effort by the consortium to do justice to the very different soils in Chianti Classico and to create more clarity for consumers.
The president of the consortium, Giovanni Manetti (Fontodi), commented on this development with the words: "This is an important step for us, which makes the origin of the wines even clearer. But we are only at the beginning of a major development."
Along with the vineyard designations, the range of varieties for the Gran Selezione has also been changed. Instead of at least 80 per cent, a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione must in future contain at least 90 per cent Sangiovese. The remaining 10 per cent is reserved for indigenous red wine varieties, i.e. Canaiolo, Colorino, Malvasia Nera. Cabernet, Merlot or Syrah have no place (any longer) in a Gran Selezione.
Umbria
Umbria lies north of Rome in the interior and is bordered by Tuscany, Marches and Lazio. The region, often referred to as the "green heart of Italy", is characterised by hills and mountains. The calcareous clay and sand soils, the moisturising winds from the Tyrrhenian Sea and cool night temperatures are the best conditions for wine production. And they're being used now. After decades of rather archaic production, the Umbrian winegrowers are now also entering the quality wine sector with a sense of tradition and territorial identity. (superiore.de)
Capital: Perugia
Provinces: Perugia, Terni
Area under vines: 15,300 hectares
Total production/year: 98.70 million litres
of which red/roséwine: 52.00 million litres
of which white wine: 46.70 million litres
Share of viticulture in Italy: 2.20%.
unbalanced
A wine is unbalanced when one of the three tastes (sweetness, acidity, bitterness) prevails and is perceived as disturbing.
uovo
Italian for egg.
Uva di Troia
The Uva di Troia is a southern Italian red grapevine, which is mainly found in Apulia. The DOC Castel del Monte, for example, is made from the grapes.
Uva Rara
The red grape variety comes from the Oltrepò area. Pavese in Lombardy. It is also cultivated in Piedmont.
uvaggio
Italian name for a cuvée.
It is understood as the mixing of two or more wines. These can be obtained from different grape varieties and vineyards and also from different vintages. Usually a grape variety forms the main part of a cuvée and thus determines the character of the wine.