Talking Italian Wine

A thumbnail sketch to easy pronunciation

In my time here at Italian Wine Merchants, I’ve had plenty of people tell me that one of the biggest problems they have with Italian wines is saying their names. Being fluent in the Italian language and talking its wine on a daily basis, I thought I could help our readers learn some basics, because neither faulty pronunciation nor fear of the same should stand in the way of enjoying fine wine. I offer these quick rules on pronouncing and understanding Italian wines.

________________________________________________________________________

1. The Italian language is phonetic, so all letters are pronounced when reading.

2. Vowels and Letters are pronounced differently than in English, though unlike English, vowel pronunciation doesn’t change:

• “e” is not “ee” as in “tree” but “eh” as in “egg”

• “i” sounds like the “ee” in tree

• “a” is the “a” in “apple”

• “o” is the “o” in “pot”

• “z” is like the English “z” in “zebra,” but “zz” is like the sound in “cats”

• “ss” is the “s” sound in “Sassicaia”: read it as it is,. However, the “s” on its own within a word is pronounced like our “z,” so “casa” (home) is pronounced “cah-zah”

• “s” at the beginning of a word is still “s” like Sam—or Sassicaia

• “qu” followed by a vowel is pronounced like the English “kwe” in ‘question’

3. Exceptions to the rules stated above:

• “gn” is pronounced like the Spanish “ñ,” for example: Grignolino d’Asti (gree-ñee-oh-lee-noh dah-stee)

• “ch” is pronounced “k” as in “kin” and not “ch” as in “church,” for example: Fontodi Chianti Classico (fon-toh-dee Kee-ahn-tee kla-see-coh)

• “gli” or “glie” is pronounced much like the Spanish “ll” in “Me llamo” and followed by the ‘i’ (ee) sound—for example: Frecciarossa Riesling Gli Orti is pronounced “Ll-ee ortee”

• “ci” and “ce” is pronounced like “ch” in “church” followed by the vowel sounds “i” or “e”—this only happens when combining “c” with “i” or “e,” but not with other vowels. To give some examples: cisterna (chee-stehr’-nah), which means “cistern” and cervo (cher’-voh), which means “deer.”

• “gi” and “ge” are similar to the above rule with the letter “c.” The “g” here sounds like the “j” in “jacket” followed by the “I” or “e” sounds. So, Bruno Giacosa is “broo-noh jee-ah-coh-sah.”

4. What to do with double letters:

• Other than “ss” and “zz,” double letters indicate that the sound should be stressed more. For example, the double “ll”s in balloon are the same as in Ornellaia.

• Double letters also have an effect on intonation; the syllable before the double letters is the one to receive the most stress on it. For example: “Sassicaia” is pronounced “SAH-see-cah-ee-ah.”

5. More on stressed syllables: It’s safe to say that almost all Italian words, without double letters or accents, are stressed on the second-to-last syllable.

• Two syllable words: If a word has two syllables, the first one is normally stressed unless there is an accent on one of the vowels in the second syllable. For example: faro (fah’-roh), which means “lighthouse,” is stressed on the first syllable. By adding an accent, the stress changes and so becomes farò (fah-roh’), meaning “I will do.”

• Three-or-more-syllable words: Here you can see that the stress rests on the penultimate syllable, for example, riserva (ri-sèr-va), Grignolino (gree-ñeeoh-li-noh),

6. Now it’s your turn to practice. Read the following and use what you have learned:

• Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo

(Fohn-toh-dee kee-ahn’-tee klah-see-coh ree-zehr-vah vee’-ñah dehl

sor-boh)

• Quintarelli Alzero

(kween-tah-reh-lee al-zeh-roh)

• Clerico Ciabot Mentin Ginestra

(kleh-ri-coh chee-ah-boht mehn-teen jee-neh-strah)

• Case Basse di Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

(kah-zeh bah-seh dee sol-deh-rah broo-neh-loh dee mohn-tahl-chee-noh ree-zehr-vah)

________________________________________________________________________

With these rules in mind, you can order your next bottle of Aglianico with ease. (Just say it this way: “ah-LYAH-nee-koe.”)

Wine and Pizza

A match made in foodie heaven

It’s an Italian classic. Americans love it. You love it. I love it. Brick-oven, thin crust and showing that perfect ratio of tangy tomato sauce to gooey fresh mozzarella: everyone loves pizza.

You can have it anyway you want it, and I’ve tried them all: quattro formaggi, wild mushroom, meat lover’s, white pizza and vegetable. I search out variations of the doughy, crusty delight, but I never stray too far away from my regular slice—or pie—for too long. Thin crust, New York-style pizza remains my first choice—a classic!

Pizza is an American dietary staple, though its roots are in Neapolitan cuisine, and though their regional takes on the dish are part of the pizza excitement. There’s New York Style, sure, but there’s also deep-dish Chicago-style and Hawaiian (topped with pineapple and ham). There’s Cajun pizza and nouvelle pizza. There’s gluten-free pizza, and raw foodie pizza approximations. There seem to be infinite variations to the flat-bread-with-sauce-cheese-and-topping theme.

America boasts more than 69,000 pizzerias, and we consume nearly three billion pizza pies per year, according to research by marketing firm Blumenfeld and Associates. I’ve seen statistics state that we even eat 100 acres of pizza per day, and I could believe it. A “go-to” food, pizza’s easy, affordable and it satiates.

Somehow, in all my years of eating pizza, I never thought of pairing wine with it. Then I read an article by Wine Spectator’s Kim Marcus a few years ago on pairing pizza and wine (the article’s sadly not available online). I was astonished. Why didn’t I ever think of seeking out a wine to complement my pizza? The duo seemed like such a no-brainer that I felt like I’d had a small, but important, epiphany. Since then, I seem to go back to Pinot Noir, preferably an Oregonian one, but I know there’s more.

Once I started to consider the options, I felt stunned by their number. Tomato sauce is usually rich in flavor, and there are plenty of great wines to match. A Chianti Classico, a spicy Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and most Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux-blends (the herbaceous Cabernet Franc can match up to the oregano and other herbs in most pizza, while Merlot will complement the subtle fruitiness of the tomato) are all contenders. Likewise, a rich, round Dolcetto that’s full of black cherries, earth, basil and supple tannins will make almost any style of pizza sing. If you prefer white, you may want a Trebbiano or crisper white from Veneto or Friuli. The choice is yours—and mine.

I can’t wait to find my next new pizza. I’m always happy with my classic, New York-style, but as with wine, you can’t always just stick to one.

Grace in the Gravner

The magic of music meeting wine

Listening to music changes the way we perceive things—even, or perhaps especially, wine. I clearly remember last April when I met my friend at his rock studio here in Hong Kong. I got to the studio (equipped with a full stage, premium sound equipment and instruments for seven) and was shown the enormous wine cellar on the other side of the room, insulated from vibration and in perfect condition. I understood the way John Kinsella felt in Field of Dreams when he asked his son, “Is this heaven?” and was told, “No. It’s Iowa.” For one Sunday, I thought heaven was located in the Chai Wan district of Hong Kong.

As the house band started playing its repertoire of mostly Eagles ballads, we sat back and enjoyed a few finer Champagnes. The set list picked up, and the growing bass thrummed in sync with our move into a deeper Bordeaux. A well-timed guitar solo found me taking longer with each sip and blocking out everything but the Fender Stratocaster and Château Lascombes. The evening concluded, I returned to earth, and I filed this epiphany in the back of my mind; however, not long after, another music/wine synergy occurred.

“Lover You Should’ve Come Over,” the seventh track off of Jeff Buckley’s album Grace was playing in my apartment. I had a glass of Josko Gravner’s 2002 Ribolla Anfora in hand and was sipping. It felt as if the wine transformed into Buckley’s voice in amber, liquid form. Gravner’s wine has often struck me as artistic: fully alive, ever-evolving and somehow always striking the right chord. Like Gravner’s wine, Buckley’s voice is unfiltered and pure. I’ve never heard another singer pull off this song like Buckley, and I can’t help but note that there is only one Gravner.

Finding common threads in music and wines is easy if you think about your favorites. But having it occur spontaneously—and being perceptive enough to notice when it does—is an unexpected reward and an infinite pleasure. And if you do have a wine pairing for Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” Zeppelin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” or Pearl Jam’s “Black,” I’d love to know.

keep looking »