BdiL Jul 15, 2009:

Single malt whisky is better Off hand I'm not so keen on Vermouth even though I live in the city where it was born, nor do I see any special quality in potato distillate besides the fact it's... er... see-through. Anyways, I do believe that Carly can fully profit from the ample discussion. Tangy is penetrante or piccante, but often it is not that far from meaning pungent (pungente). I go for lively/spunky/exuberant, in that order, exuberant being quite a distance from the first two. Up to your judgement, Carly. Cheers! Maurizio

Michael Korovkin Jul 14, 2009:

Tah, Pal Yeah, it's basically brilliant/vivacious/exuberant/spunky/lively... vermouth – one of the least civilised drinks in the Western world! Basically a herbal mouthwash. Even in it's least offensive application it still manages to ruin a perfectly good glass of vodka. It's his taste for those martinis that made me realise (at the age of 12) that James Bond wasn't that classy after all! But I digress, sorry.

pallavik Jul 14, 2009:

Michael, I guess you're right when you state it's not for us to question the suitability of a given adjective in the source text, rather it's a matter of using one's judgment to translate the concept behind it best... At this stage I'd feel inclined to go for what you or Julie have come up with.

delveneto Jul 14, 2009:

Oh, julie-h had the word already mentioned... I think it's a good one.

delveneto Jul 14, 2009:

What about "refreshing"?

delveneto Jul 14, 2009:

Oh, it is about vermouth, not wine... I jumped to a wrong conclusion... I will have to remove my previous agree.

Michael Korovkin Jul 14, 2009:

you're not missing anything As I already said to Carly, it's the term "frizzante" that's most unfortunate in this context for it comes as grossly misleading. Ours, however, is not to question why... You're right about tangy too.

pallavik Jul 14, 2009:

What am I missing? Sorry but whilst my contribution at this stage unfortunately enough will be nil I fail to see a connection between "frizzante" - in normal circumstances translated as "sparkling" - and "tangy" which I'd render as "di sapore/aroma marcato". From the postings I read so far it sounds like "frizzante" really shouldn't be used to describe this vermouth... Whatever it needs to be I'd steer away from "tangy" anyway.

Michael Korovkin Jul 14, 2009:

A 'sto punto sia i miei o anche "lively" di Julie, o "vivacious" andrebbero bene. Non userei "tangy" perchè, se ricordo bene, anche questo si usa come un termine specificamente enologico... quando ti mordicchia la lingua o cose del genere.
Ho risposto di corsa anche al tuo "aroma/profumo" e guardi che casino!

carly kelly (asker) Jul 14, 2009:

Ciao Michael to answer your question: no, frizzante here doesn't refer to the presence of bubbles, it's just an adjective to describe the taste/sensation of vermouth. I just needed help in defining "frizzante" . I was thinking along the lines of tangy, but wasn't really sure that was the right word, hence my query.

Michael Korovkin Jul 14, 2009:

Carli, ciao; non ho capito bene: Vuoi una metafora della vivacità oppure una categoria enologica?
Se la prima – vedi la mia risposta. Se la seconda – mi dimetto: frizzantino è un vino non ancora fermo (con Vermouth semplicemente impossibile: troppo alcolico per permettere la fermentazione residua).Se frizzante – vuol dire che qualcuno ha sbattuto dentro diossido di carbonio facendo così un Vermouth Frizzante (leteralmente Sparkling Vermouth). A 'sto punto ci mancha solo grappa spumante e passiamo direttamente al vomitorio senza prendere neanche un caffè! No, deve per forza essere una metafora!

julie-h Jul 14, 2009:

sparkling I agree entirely. I think using sparkling in a figurative sense is very misleading. That's why I suggested lively.

carly kelly (asker) Jul 14, 2009:

question about "sparkling" Frizzante etc are just adjectives an average person-on-the-street (I suppose, it being a survey) would use to describe the vermouth they have just tasted. Would they use sparkling in a figurative sense? Personally I wouldn't use sparkling to describe a drink that wasn't literally sparkling... Are there any alternatives?