Level 3 wine exam practice ยท Learning outcome 2

Italy: practice questions

41 original multiple-choice questions on this chapter, each with an explanation. Five are below; the rest, plus timed mocks and written-answer drills with mark schemes, are in the app.

Sample questions

Sicily's most planted black grape, giving full-bodied reds with ripe plum and black-cherry fruit, is:
  1. Nero d'Avola
  2. Negroamaro
  3. Aglianico
  4. Corvina
Answer: Nero d'Avola. Nero d'Avola is the island's signature red, happy in the heat and widely bottled as a varietal under Sicilia DOC or Terre Siciliane IGT. Negroamaro is Puglian, Aglianico Campanian and Corvina from the Veneto.
Why is Nebbiolo planted on the best south-facing slopes of the Langhe, leaving other sites to Barbera and Dolcetto?
  1. Nebbiolo buds early and ripens very late, so it needs the warmest, sunniest sites to ripen its tannins before the autumn fogs and cold arrive
  2. Nebbiolo is the most vigorous variety and needs poor soils to restrain it
  3. The law requires Nebbiolo to be planted at the top of each hill
  4. Nebbiolo cannot tolerate any direct sunlight
Answer: Nebbiolo buds early and ripens very late, so it needs the warmest, sunniest sites to ripen its tannins before the autumn fogs and cold arrive. Nebbiolo is the last grape harvested in Piemonte, often well into October, and only the prime hillside exposures give it enough heat to ripen fully. Barbera and Dolcetto ripen earlier and more easily, so they take the cooler, less favoured positions.
What is the difference between Recioto della Valpolicella and Amarone della Valpolicella?
  1. Both are made from dried grapes, but Recioto's fermentation is stopped while sugar remains, making it sweet, whereas Amarone is fermented dry
  2. Recioto is a white wine and Amarone is red
  3. Recioto is made from fresh grapes and Amarone from dried grapes
  4. Recioto is fortified and Amarone is not
Answer: Both are made from dried grapes, but Recioto's fermentation is stopped while sugar remains, making it sweet, whereas Amarone is fermented dry. Recioto is the older style: the same dried Corvina must, but the yeast is halted, or exhausted by the sugar, before the wine is dry. Amarone, whose name hints at bitterness, is the result of letting that fermentation finish. Neither is fortified and both are red.
What is Terre Siciliane?
  1. An IGT covering the whole island, with flexible rules that allow both local and international varieties and varietal labelling
  2. A single DOCG vineyard on Etna
  3. A sweet fortified wine
  4. A sparkling wine appellation
Answer: An IGT covering the whole island, with flexible rules that allow both local and international varieties and varietal labelling. Terre Siciliane is the island-wide IGT under which much of Sicily's varietal Nero d'Avola, Syrah and Chardonnay is sold; Sicilia DOC is the stricter island-wide appellation. Etna has its own DOC, and the sweet and fortified wines of Sicily carry other names.
Why do the wines of Etna taste fresher and more elegant than those from Sicily's hot lowlands?
  1. The vineyards sit at high altitude on the volcano's slopes, where cool nights and a large diurnal range preserve acidity, on free-draining volcanic soils
  2. They are made from grapes imported from the north
  3. They are fermented at very low temperatures in the winery
  4. The volcano shades the vineyards for most of the day
Answer: The vineyards sit at high altitude on the volcano's slopes, where cool nights and a large diurnal range preserve acidity, on free-draining volcanic soils. Etna's vines grow higher than almost any others in Italy, and altitude does for them what latitude does for a northern region: slower ripening, retained acidity and finer tannins. The local Nerello Mascalese reds and Carricante whites are the island's most refined wines for this reason.
Drill all 41 in the app