If you like wine, even just a little, Italy has a wine for you. Whatever you crave, ranging from dry to sweet, light to robust, or world-class sparkling wines, it can be found in one or more of Italy’s diverse regions. Our Italian Wine Central is the starting point for you to learn about Italian wines.
Beyond cultural and climate heterogeneity, Italy has a staggering number of native grape varietals — more than France, Spain, and Greece combined (by some distance as well). You could have a different Italian varietal each day of the year and still not exhaust its catalog of grape treasures.
It’s important to remember that the nation of Italy was not unified until 1861. Before unification, Italy was a collection of sovereign and often unfriendly states with a unique language, culture, cuisine, and distinct wines. Not until post-World War II that the Italian language officially used in each region. Every part of daily life was tied to the regional state. Their cuisine grew from the land and the sea, and their wines from the omnipresent vines that have grown there for centuries, if not millennia.
Italian Wine Central — Itay’s Unique Geography
Italy is just as geographically diverse, with its northern reaches nestled into the Alps bordering Switzerland and Austria. It stretches southeast in its iconic “boot” shape, straddled by two seas. Two significant islands, Sardinia and Sicily, lie in the Mediterranean and could both be considered nations in their own right. Along the Italian mainland is a spine of mountain ranges that further enhances and complicates the various microclimates. There is simply a tremendous amount to see and taste.
In the North, you can find white wines that are every bit as crisp, floral, and sleek as anything found in Austria and Germany. However, you can also find world-class reds here. Austria and Germany have no red wines that rival Piedmont’s Barolo, Barbaresco, or Veneto’s Amarone. Also, in the North, you can find sparkling wine zones, most notably Franciacorta and TrentoDOC. Made in the classic method, these sparkling wines rival those found in Champagne.
Moving on to central Italy, you will find the complex Sangiovese-based wines of Tuscany that rank among the world’s very best wines. Chianti, Carmignano, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are all made with Sangiovese, at least in the majority. How could you not be intrigued by wines known simply as “Super Tuscans?” Tuscany has caught the eye of wine lovers around the world. These Super Tuscans can be based on Sangiovese, but they often feature French varietals like Cabernet and Merlot, and almost always fetch a handsome price.
Central Italy provides further gems like Sagrantino and Grechetto from Umbria, Montepulciano from Abruzzo, Verdicchio from Marche, and Malvasia and Cesanese from Lazio.
In the South, you are treated to a staggering number of red and white wines made from native varietals that pleasingly shock first-time drinkers. Falanghina, Fiano, and Greco from Campania are whites that cannot be missed, while Aglianico is the South’s secret weapon red grape, creating wines with both power and finesse.
In the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, we find wines that are getting better and better with each passing decade. On Sardinia, Spain’s Garnacha is known locally as Cannonau, while whites made from Vermentino are contributing to the varietal’s global revival. On the island of Sicily, the rare but sublime Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG is a revelation to all who try it, while the red blends from Etna DOC are winning converts daily. These great wines are proof positive that wines can become popular despite having virtually zero varietal name recognition.
Italian Wine Central — The Overview
Like the French with their AOC and the Spaniards with their DO, the Italians, too, have their own set of regulations known as the Denominazione di Origine Controllata or simply DOC. The Italians created their DOC appellation system in the early 1960s, making many modifications along the way. A major revision in 1980 created the DOCG category, reserved for the highest-quality wines, and later, the IGT/IGP was created to recognize quality wines that did not fit into existing DOC rules.
These rules manage the grape varieties permitted for use within a particular DOC (geographic area), as well as minimum alcohol strength, aging requirements, and sometimes the maximum yield of grapes per acre/hectare, among other factors.
The rules in each denomination can be quite complex, and there are over 400 of them. It’s safe to say that you will never learn them all. But if you concentrate on a dozen or so varieties and learn about the most famous wine from each region, you will be well ahead of the curve.
The sheer number of Italian appellations and grapes can cause the timid wine explorer to break out in hives. Don’t be intimidated! We confess, learning Italian wines is not easy; in fact, the learning will never end. That’s the fun part! Let’s have fun.
Italian Wine Central — Get Fluent
To begin, we really encourage you to read our The Unparalleled Joy and Whimsy of Italian Wine (An Italian Wine Primer). This will set the stage for a deeper exploration, and it will likely demystify the subject and fill you with a bit of confidence when seeking Italian wines. Our Italian Wine Central has it all.
Next, we encourage you to bookmark these two reference pages: Get Fluent with Native Italian Wine Grapes that explores 30 of Italy’s top native varietals. Then, our coverage of all 20 Italian Wine Regions is second to none. Explore the 800-plus Italian wine appellations organized by region. This is a great resource for those of you who are getting serious about Italian wines. We take you through each region, telling you what type of wines are being made here, the vital grape varieties, and the historical and cultural influences that have shaped the region’s wine.
Do you want to better understand Italian wine? May we suggest Be A Beverage Expert (BABE), a guide to understanding wine, beer, spirits, and cocktails.