Wines and wine regions of Italy
From the hip to the heel, Italy is a country of excitement, diversity, class and style. Fascinating flavours and some tongue-twistingly-named grape varieties. Vast contrasts and great character are reflected in the food-led wines. Passion is the key element brought to life with vigour in the production of Italy’s wonderfully aromatic and delicious wines. Reds and whites beyond the famous appellations of Chianti and Soave, are just waiting to be discovered. It’s worth seeking out organic wine producers in Italy, and they are increasing in number.
View a full list of our Italian white wine and Italian red wine.
Campania
Records show that wine making has been going on in this region since the 13th century B.C. Home to the mighty volcano Vesuvio, Campania produces a range of white and red wines that are increasing in quality year on year. Campania has several native grapes such as Fiano, a grape known to the Romans as Viti Apiana, Greco, that was first introduced by the Greeks, Coda di Volpe, so named by Pliny after the shape of the grape cluster, and Pedirosso.
Emilia Romagna
Situated between Tuscany and Lombardy, best known for the production of red Lambrusco from the very flat Po Valley - a slightly sparkling wine with a very frothy head, great with the richness of the local foods. This region with its main growing areas around Modena and east of Bologna (the regions capital where the two districts of Emilia and Romagna coincide), also now produces some very good reds from the Apennine foothills such as plummy Merlots. An excellent example is from the Corte d’Aibo winery.
Marche
The Marches were part of the territory that extended inland along the eastern bank of the Tiber river and up north all the way to the Po Valley. The area was occupied by the Umbri (from the Greek Ombrikoi) and the Picentes (Greeks who called part of the region Picenum) since early Paleolithic times. Today, the main regional white is the excellent Verdicchio, made from at least 85% of the grape with the same name. Both the Verdicchio di Jesi and the Verdicchio di Matelica wines complement local dishes such as the Lumache alle Nove Erbe, snails cooked with nine aromatic herbs, and the Brodetto di Pesce, a bouillabaisse-like rich seafood stew that, though found all over the Adriatic coast, reaches its best expression here.
===product=712539===
Piemonte
North West geographically - or physically the groin! This region, one of Italy's many, is home to the most successful Italian car manufacturer, Fiat of Turin - the capital of Piemonte. It is also the most important region for top quality wines. Asti and Alba are the main wine centres. Names such as Barbaresco, Barbera, Barolo and Dolcetto are amongst the most famous in this predominantly red grape area. Paolo Manzone shows such off at their best with his own bright, passionate and individual style.
Alba
This major wine city, South East of Turin, is situated on the River Tanaro. Dolcetto d'Alba - deep purple with a light yet succulent, ripe fruit finish and Barbera d'Alba - from the Nebbiolo grape, darker, intense and chocolatey, are just two of the main contenders.
===product=712942===
===product=712951===
===product=712953===
===product=712935===
Puglia
The heel of Italy is now producing wine of increasingly good quality and value. Benefiting from spells working in wineries abroad, the new generation winemakers have returned to this beautifully hot and rural area to provide some excellent examples of intense, spicy, warm, luscious reds. The primary varieties are Primitivo, Zinfandel in California, and Negroamaro with its burst of chocolate and cherries.
Salento
Lying right at the bottom of Puglia the warm ripe flavours come through in the dark red wine from the Negroamaro (Black-bitter) grape. Chocolate, spice and cherries are the aromas reflected on the palate. Salice Salento is one of the best-known appellations here (DOC).
===product=712362===
===product=712920===
Trentino
Moving north above Verona and into the Alps we enter a cooler climate of mountains and mists which rise from the Adige River. Fine, crisp, fresh whites are best from here from the Chardonnay and the Pinot Grigio grape varieties, but Traminer and Sauvignon Blanc in blending does well too. The Endrizzi winery has excellent examples of these whites in their extensive range. The indigenous variety of Teroldego from the Rotaliano plain produces a wonderfully dark, fruity wine with lovely soft tannins and is well worth a try.
===product=712162===
===product=712542===
===product=713014===
===product=713015===
Sicily
Kicked into the Med by the toe of Italy, Sicily is now fighting back with a fest of full creative ferment. Hardly a newcomer to wine production, with bountiful native grapes, it contains some of the oldest vineyards dating back to at least the 5th Century BC. Best known for the production of Marsala but now less popular unless you are making tiramisu! Growers are now concentrating on some excellent table wines which are surprisingly crisp and fresh, given that this is one of the hottest regions in Europe. In the west of the island the plains can be scorching but in the mountainous centre the climate is cooler. White wines are mainly from the Grillo grape as well as the better known Chardonnay with reds from the local Nero d’Avola plus Cabernet and Merlot. Sicily offers some of the best value food-friendly wines and of quality too – try those from Bruno Fina.
===product=711377===
===product=713242===
===product=713367===
Tuscany
A beautiful and very picturesque region towards the ‘thigh’ of this diverse country, Tuscany provides many gastronomic delights from its small medieval villages perched amongst the rolling hills surrounding Siena. With over 600 years’ history of winemaking, first established in Florence, Tuscany’s best-known grape is Sangiovese. This comes in various clones such as Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Sangioveto. When the habitat is right it produces some of the country’s great wines, with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino being amongst the finest but Chianti is the most famous. Split into seven sub-zones, those from the Chianti Classico designate (between Florence and Siena) are superior due to its higher, hillier, cooler locality. Richer in flavour, you’ll recognise them from the ‘black cockeral’ logo. With its own personality and such stature Chianti is unquestionably Italian!
Montalcino
A fortress town to the south of Siena, Montalcino produces one of Italy’s finest reds – Brunello di Montalcino. Full bodied and powerful, rich and dark but more tannic than Chianti with a longevity that can demand high prices. Rosso di Montalcino comes from the younger vines of the Brunello variety, a clone of Sangiovese, and therefore becomes slightly more affordable.
===product=712737===
Veneto
This northeastern region is home to the two most romantic cities, Verona and Venice and also the best known wines in Italy namely Soave, Pinot Grigio and Prosecco for the whites and the red Valpolicella and its lighter version, Bardolino from the shores of Lake Garda. Pinot Grigio is the most popular and fashionable gentle white from around Verona and to the south the Prosecco grape produces a great sparkling white with the best from the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene areas. This refreshing fizz is still very famously served with peach juice in Harry’s Bar in Venice.
Soave
Soave is the classic white of Veneto. In the hills behind Verona lies the Soave Classico heartland producing the wonderfully crisp, fruity, almondy white from the Garganega grape usually blended with Trebbiano.
===product=713131===
Valpolicella
Situated to the northwest of Verona. Valpolicella produces, from its very garden like terraced vineyards below the Lessini Mountains, a juicy red with cherry-stone scented aromas at its most basic, but moving through from Classico to Classico Superiore level becomes a more deeper red with delicate nutty flavours. The best is, however, the Amarone and the Recioto styles, both made from partly sun-dried grapes adding a richness and sweetness to these delicious flavours. All Valpolicella is produced from three native varieties in varying quantities with Corvina being dominant along with Rondinella and Molinara.