Italy is one of the oldest wine regions in the world. Etruscans and Greek settlers produced wine in the country long before the Romans started developing their own vineyards in the second century BC. Roman wine-growing was prolific and well-organised, pioneering large-scale production and storage techniques like barrel-making and bottling. Two thousand years later, Italy remains one of the world's foremost producers, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005.
Wine is a popular beverage in Italy. Many Italians drink it with every meal and in-between, and offer it to guests as soon as they arrive. Grapes are grown in almost every part of Italy, with more than 1 million vineyards under cultivation. Each region is proud of its carefully tended, neatly pruned vines. The people of each region are also proud of the wine they make from their own grapes.
As far as generalizations can be made, Italian wines tend to be acidic, dry (light-to-medium bodied, and subdued in flavour and aroma. Because of these characteristics, Italian wines are, in general, a better accompaniment to food than they are beverages to be enjoyed on their own.
Italian Appellation System
Italy's classification system is a modern one that reflects current realities. It has four classes of wine, with two falling under the EU category Quality Wine Produced in a Specific Region (QWPSR) and two falling under the category of 'table wine'. The four classes are:
- Table Wine
- Vino da Tavola - Denotes wine from Italy. NOTE: this is not always synonymous with other countries' legal definitions of 'table wine'. The appelation indicates either an inferior quaffing wine, or one that does not follow current wine law. Some quality wines do carry this appelation.
- Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) - Denotes wine from a more specific region within Italy. This appelation was created for the "new" wines of Italy, those that had broken the strict, old wine laws but were wines of great quality. Before the IGT was created, quality "Super Tuscan" wines such as Tignanello and Sassicaia were labeled Vino da Tavola.
- QWPSR
- Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC)
- Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG)
Both DOC and DOCG wines refer to zones which are more specific than an IGT, and the permitted grapes are also more specifically defined. The main difference between a DOC and a DOCG is that the latter must pass a blind taste test for quality in addition to conforming to the strict legal requirements to be designated as a wine from the area in question.
Italian Wine Regions
Italy's 20 wine regions correspond to the 20 political regions. Understanding of Italian wine becomes clearer with an understanding of the differences between each region; their cuisines reflect their indigenous wines, and vice-versa.
The regions are, roughly from Northwest to Southeast:
- Aosta Valley (Valle D'Aosta)
- Piedmont (Piemonte)
- Liguria
- Lombardy (Lombardia)
- Trentino-South Tyrol (Trentino Alto-Adige)
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- Veneto
- Emilia-Romagna
- Tuscany (Toscana)
- Marche (Le Marche)
- Umbria
- Lazio
- Abruzzi (Abruzzo)
- Molise
- Campania
- Basilicata
- Puglia
- Calabria
- Sicily (Sicilia)
- Sardinia (Sardegna)
Click here for more information on some popular Italian regional wine styles.