Since it is the region that grows at least 350 common wine grape varieties, no wonder Italian wine is complicated and often hard to understand. From the sun drenched reds on the south to the fragrant whites of the north, it is delicious and very diverse. Best Italian wines are a pure pleasure on the tongue. However, in order to fully enjoy the beauty of Italian wines, you need to know what you are looking for.
Most wine lists do not give much information about the wine except for the producer, vintage and price. Moreover, wine greatly differentiates depending on the region that it comes from. Therefore, when it comes to Italian wine, Italy is regarded as having 4 distinctly different areas with 20 unique regions.
NW Italy – Piemonte, Lombardy, Valle d’Aosta, Liguria.
NE Italy – Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli
Central Italy – Toscana, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzi, Umbria, Molise
Southern Italy – Puglia, Basilicata, Sardegna, Sicily, Campania, Calabria
The Most Common Italian White Wine Grapes
Pinot Grigio – The most common zesty Italian white wine grape which origins from the French region, Pinot Gris. Pinot Grigio makes one of the best Italian wines and it is actually a pale red-gray coloured grape, a mutant of Pinot Noir. It is mostly grown in Alto Adige, Friuli and Lombardy.
Trebbiano – Italy’s most planted white wine grape which is also called Ugni Blanc. It is the basis of many Italian white wine blends and is the same grape which is used to make Balsamic Vinegar and Cognac.
Vermentino – A grape which comes from Sardegna and is commonly cultivated in Toscana. It is used for the making of a crisp wine which has a similar taste to Sauvignon Blanc but it is more bitter.
The Most Common Red Grapes Used For The Production Of The Best Italian Wines
Sangiovese – A grape which is planted throughout Italy and is the main grape of Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino in Toscana.
Montepulciano – A red grape commonly grown in Central and Southern Italy. Montepuliciano d’Abruzzo is a dark rustic wine with full body, black pepper spice and high tannin.
Negroamaro – A Southern Italian wine grape which is sometimes blended with Primitivo in order to add structure and tannin.
The hundreds of years of wine-making history, the numerous wine grape varieties as well as the 20 uniquely designated wine growing regions make Italy’s wine scene an exciting adventure from grape to glass. Tuscany, Piedmont and Alto Adige are just some of the regions known for the best Italian wines, the places where wine magic happens. Nevertheless, no matter which one of the Italian best wines you choose to celebrate the joys of life with, you will make no mistake. They say wine makes every meal an occasion, and it is no secret that Italian wine is one of world’s most sophisticated and high-quality pleasures.
