5 Things I Learnt in Valpolicella and Prosecco

In September our wine tasting club paid a 4 day visit to the wineries of Valpoliccella, Prosecco, Lugano and Rotaliano in north-east Italy.

Here are 5 things I learnt.

1) The meaning of Valpolicella

Val – meaning valley
Poli – many, like poly in English
Cella - cellar

Thus Valpolicella is the Valley with many cellars. There are more than 400 wineries in Valpolicella

2) Valpolicella is a blend based on the Corvina grape
Amarone is Valpolicella where the grapes have been dried for intensity
Recioto is a sweet wine produced when Amarone fermentation is stopped
Ripasso is Valpolicella refermented on skins left after pressing Amarone, it's a midway between Valpolicalla and Amarone

3) That from this year Prosecco can be pink and the Extra Brut classification is introduced for Prosecco with fewer than 7gL sugar

4) How to pronounce Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.

Conegliano - Con nee lee ah no

Valdobbiadene - Val-dough bee-dee ard an-ay

5) The Charmat method of secondary fementation in a large tank was invented by Italian Federico Martinotti but it was the Frenchman Charmat who patented it and whose name is used for it. The Prosecco producers we met called it the Martinotti method and didn't like to name Charmat.

If you permit, I'd like to add thing # 6.

The word Recioto comes from the local dialect recia meaning ear.

That's because usually the sweet wine is obtained from the sweetest grapes coming from the two little wings on the top of the bunch.

[Robin Garr]

Sounds like an excellent tour, Peter. One thought, though:

Val-dough bee-dee ard an-ay

I think most of us on this side of the water would say "ard" with an arrrr.

Sounds like an excellent tour, Peter. One thought, though:

Val-dough bee-dee ard an-ay

I think most of us on this side of the water would say "ard" with an arrrr.

I think most people this side avoid saying it at all because they don't know where to start.

As for pronunciation - I asked in Prosecco how to say it and wrote phonetically and repeated it and changed my writing till I got approval. So, I'll go with it.

Maybe I'll pronounce it the American way on International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Seriously though, I expect different people in Prosecco use different inflections and emphasises.

[Robin Garr]

Seriously though, I expect different people in Prosecco use different inflections and emphasises.

Oh, yes, of course! I think your version hit it exactly, only that most Americans outside New York, New England and the deep South would make it Val-dough bee-dee aHd an-ay

I personally would not use those anglicised forms to describe the pronunciation, but rather than get into a discussion over the anglicisation, here are some Italian pronunciations of the two regions:
https://forvo.com/word/conegliano/
https://forvo.com/word/valdobbiadene/
I wouldn't presume to say that those pronunciations are correct, but they certainly sound how I would expect.

Generally, Forvo is a great resource for this sort of thing. Perhaps you should submit an English pronunciation of Pinotage, Peter?

[Robin Garr]

I wouldn't resume to say that those pronunciations are correct, but they certainly sound how I would expect.

Rosicip's pronunciation in particular sounds right on to me.

Perhaps you should submit an English pronunciation of Pinotage, Peter?

A pleasure Steve. I've done it in a new thread

But don't both those anglicised pronunciations of Valdobbiadene have a spurious "dee"? Either I am going crazy or the rest of the world is. Help!

But don't both those anglicised pronunciations of Valdobbiadene have a spurious "dee"? Either I am going crazy or the rest of the world is. Help!

All I know is I asked the guide in Valdobbiadene how to pronounce it, I repeated what she said and wrote it down phonetically and repeated it, changed it, repeated it until she said it was correct.

It is said in Italian very much faster that a slow repetition of the break down I wrote. Slur it together and that is how she pronounces it.

I put my hands up and say when presented with the name Conegliano Valdobbiadene I chickened out and said 'the central area'.

If you're already confident in pronouncing the names I don't expect you to change: all I can say is that I didn't know how to pronounce them before and I am confident with my pronunciation now.

most Americans outside New York, New England and the deep South would make it Val-dough bee-dee aHd an-ay

I was roundly mocked in the USA for pronouncing Tuesday with a ewe sound after the 'T', instead of an oo sound.
Since the subject was the restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday, and that was named after the Rolling Stones song written by them and sung by Mick Jagger who pronounced Tuesday with a ewe sound after the 'T', I found it most unfair.