Italian term for a wooden barrel of not exactly defined size, the volume is between 200 and 300 litres. This corresponds roughly to a barrique (225 litres) and occasionally Carato (Carati) or more rarely Barricato is used as a designation for the barrique barrel or also for the barrique ageing itself. Caratello is the name for a "smaller" barrel. Carato means carat in German, used to be a measure of weight and is nowadays also used as a brand name for wines. Other names for barrels are botte (larger volumes) and fusto. See also under barrel types.
wein.plus is a handy, efficient guide to a quick overview of the colourful world of wines, winegrowers and grape varieties. In Wine lexicon, the most comprehensive of its kind in the world, you will find around 26,000 keywords on the subject of grape varieties, wineries, wine-growing regions and much more.
Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)