All About Italian Wine: The Basics
From the hills of the Piedmont in Italy’s northwest, and to the island of Sicily in the south, understanding Italian wine -- and figuring out which bottle of it to buy -- can feel overwhelming. To be honest, covering everything about Italian wine in one post would be impossible, and it’s going to take more than a few articles to cover even a fraction of it.
That aside, we’re dedicated to giving you what you need to get started in buying Italian wine with confidence, because the stuff is too good to miss out on, and has something for everyone: dry reds, dry whites, bubbly stuff, rosé, fortified wines -- if it’s wine, it’s probably here. In that vein, while this article is meant to give you a foundation on Italian wine, we plan to follow up on it, and turn the topic into a regular series that will dive a bit deeper into specific regions and styles.
History
At a minimum, humans living in Italy have been growing grapes and turning them into wine for at least 4,000 years. The Greeks brought viticulture to Italy, the Romans grew grapes and built vineyards across all of Europe, and the Italians turned their wine industry into one of the world’s largest. Today, the Italian wine industry produces more wine than any country on Earth, and almost 25% of the stuff that gets exported is sent to the United States.
However, while today’s Italian wine is loved across the whole world, it wasn’t until the late 80s/early 90s that the quality of Italian wine began to improve. Two of the biggest reasons for this have been a dedication to quality over quantity, and more emphasis on more modern winemaking techniques.
Regions
In all, there are 20 different winemaking regions in all of Italy. Some, like Tuscany and Piedmont, make wines many Americans are familiar with -- specifically, Chianti and Barolo. Other regions make wines from grapes that don’t exist in any significant quantity outside of Italy. Between the 20 regions, there are literally hundreds of officially classified appellations -- the legally defined areas where grapes for a wine are grown (Europe as a whole takes these things very seriously).
In later posts, we will dedicate a few articles to the specific regions of Italian wine, but until then, Wine Folly has produced a really nice map and article that goes through the topic in a bit more detail.
Wine Designations
When shopping for Italian wine, you’re likely to run into some common abbreviations that signify whether or not a wine came from a designated appellation or not. These labels signify where the wine came from and that they followed certain techniques traditionally associated with making the wine, but they aren’t always a guarantee that the wine itself is good. Some of these labels are:
Indicazione Geografica (IGT): These are wines that come from a specific winemaking region of Italy and follow specified regulations on which grapes and winemaking techniques are used in the production of a given wine.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC): DOC wines usually come from a sub-region within an IGT region, and have even more stringent production regulations than IGT wines.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG): Wines that have been DOC wines for a minimum of 10 years and pass certain tests regarding tasting and commercial success can become DOCG wines.
Note: These aren’t all the designations that exist for Italian wine, but are the ones you’re most likely to run into while shopping for wine that makes it outside of Italy.
Wines
As mentioned above, that the wine produced in Italy runs the full gamut, from dry whites and reds like Vermentino and Barbaresco, all the way to fortified wines like Marsala. Some of the wines you’re most likely to encounter while shopping in grocery stores or larger wine/beer/spirits retailers in the United States are:
Chianti: Made from Sangiovese, this is a red wine from Tuscany that can range from light- to full-bodied, with high acidity, and tastes of cherries. It also pairs great with a wide range of foods -- especially pizza.
Barolo: Another red wine, this one hails from the Piedmont region, and is made from Nebbiolo grapes. Barolos have very full bodies with plenty of acidity and tannins, and flavors of roses and tart cherries. Pairs very well with cured meats and hard cheeses.
Pinot Grigio: A zesty and dry wine full of lemon, green apple, and honeysuckle flavors, it most often comes from Northern Italy. Pairs well with lighter foods and hot days.
Super Tuscans: These aren’t a specific type of wine; instead, these are wines made in Tuscany by winemakers who -- in most cases -- wanted to avoid the restrictions imposed by making wine under the Chianti designation. Because of this, many of these wines carry the IGT label, but not the DOC or DOCG labels. When thinking about the grapes and flavors of a Super Tuscan wine, they can run the whole gamut: some are made out of 100% Sangiovese, some are Cabernet Sauvignon blends, and some are even more esoteric grape blends. Finally, while some modern Super Tuscans can command large prices -- in excess of $100 a bottle -- they also often represent great bargains in the range of $15-20 per bottle. Because of this variety, what kinds of foods they pair with is very specific to the bottle you buy.
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