Italian wines

Wine history

Finds on Monte Kronio, published in 2017, show winemaking in Sicily at least as far back as 4000 BC. Phoenician and Greek colonists arrived around 1000 to 800 BC with their own wine traditions, and Rome spread vines across its empire, although Emperor Domitian ordered many vineyards uprooted in AD 92 to free land for grain. In 1716 Grand Duke Cosimo III de' Medici issued an edict defining the Chianti production area, one of the earliest legal wine zones. The modern classification began in 1963, was revised in 1992 and aligned with EU categories in 2010. Sassicaia, planted in 1944 and first sold in 1971, launched the Super Tuscans that later gained the Bolgheri DOC in 1994.

Wine regions and appellations

Italian wine has four tiers: Vino (table wine), IGT, DOC and DOCG. A zone needs at least five years as IGT before becoming DOC, and seven as DOC before reaching DOCG. In Piedmont, Barolo became DOC in 1966 and DOCG in 1980, with 11 communes in the Langhe. Tuscany has Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Bolgheri. Veneto produces Amarone della Valpolicella, Soave and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore. Lombardy has Franciacorta, and the south and islands offer Etna, Taurasi and Marsala.

Grapes and what to drink

Italy has the widest range of native vines of any country: the agriculture ministry lists more than 350 authorised varieties, and over 500 more are documented. Sangiovese is the backbone of Tuscany, and Chianti must contain at least 80% of it. Nebbiolo makes Barolo, Barbaresco and Valtellina Superiore. Barbera gives Barbera d'Asti, Aglianico gives Taurasi and Aglianico del Vulture, and Glera is the Prosecco grape. Montepulciano, Dolcetto, Trebbiano, Verdicchio and Arneis are other major natives. For whites try Gavi, Fiano di Avellino or Vermentino di Gallura; for sweet wine, Moscato d'Asti or Passito di Pantelleria.

Wine regions of Italy

• Abruzzo 2
• Aosta Valley 1
• Apulia 3
• Basilicata 1
• Calabria 1
• Campania 5
• Emilia-Romagna 2
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia 3
• Lazio 3
• Liguria 1
• Lombardy 4
• Marche 3
• Piedmont 12
• Sardinia 3
• Sicily 5
• Trentino-Alto Adige 3
• Tuscany 11
• Umbria 3
• Veneto 4

Grapes of Italy

• Sangiovese 7
• Nebbiolo 6
• Cabernet Sauvignon 5
• Aglianico 4
• Cabernet Franc 4
• Chardonnay 3
• Pinot Noir 3
• Merlot 3
• Vermentino 2
• Pinot Blanc 2
• Barbera 2
• Muscat 2
• Zinfandel 1
• Sauvignon Blanc 1
• Pinot Gris 1
• Grenache 1
• Carignan 1
• Gewurztraminer 1
• Petit Verdot 1
• Glera 1

Wine in Italy: questions and answers

Wines from other countries

• France 282
• Spain 37
• Portugal 20
• United States 19
• Germany 18
• Australia 14
• Chile 10
• Argentina 9
• Austria 9
• South Africa 9
• New Zealand 6
• Greece 4
• Hungary 4
• Switzerland 4