Haunting the wine graveyards and hospices, I’ve come across a few bottles of Italian wine marked “Stravecchio” and sometimes “Stravecchio Riserva.” Exactly what does this mean? Is it different from special reserve (riserva speciale)?
Interestingly, it’s popped up on a few different wines, mostly Chianti, but also on Gattinara, Marsala, and even Brandy. If anyone knows the low-down, please share.
I wonder if it is just a marketing gimmick or is something along the lines of a library release. After all, they wouldn’t know it was “very old” unless they labeled it late in life…
That construction isn’t necessarily dialect or informal contraction; straordinario (extraordinary), stracotto (overcooked), etc. are legitimate words."
The prefix in english “extra” is just ‘stra’ in Italian. “Vecchio” means old. 1 + 1 =2 …