Italian wines

About Italian Wines

Italy's wine landscape is as unique as the Italian boot on a map. The country offers a variety of different soils, climates, and styles; it is home to wine icons such as Prosecco, Chianti, and Lambrusco, and produces some of the finest wines in the world. The boot provides the geographical foundation for this. Like a spine, the Apennine mountain range stretches 1,500 km from north to south, framed by sea coasts to the west and east. This creates almost endless combinations of altitude, exposure, climate, and soil formations. Away from the cooling maritime influence, the opportunity to retreat to higher elevations is a fortunate coincidence, especially in times of climate change. The soil variations are also diverse, spread across the country and significantly shape the characteristics of regional specialties. The most common soils here are volcanic, calcareous, and gravelly clay soils.

Most native grape varieties worldwide

The spectacular number of indigenous grape varieties is unique worldwide. Depending on estimates, it ranges between 500 and 800 varieties. More and more of these are being (re-)discovered today, while the reverence for international classics – a legacy of the 20th century – is declining. Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced in the early 19th century, followed by Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah, and other grape varieties. The invention and establishment of the so-called Super Tuscans is a significant chapter in this history. Today, however, in a market saturated with international varieties, the indigenous varieties are once again in demand: Fiano, Greco, Malvasia, Pecorino, Ribolla Gialla, Lagrein, Nerello, Negroamaro, and others have already gained wider attention. Italy has always been synonymous with red wine (and, of course, Prosecco), and still is today. Since the 1990s, however, white wines such as Soave and Verdicchio, as well as the white wines from South Tyrol, Tyrol, and Friuli, have also received increasing international attention. Joško Gravner's Friulian amphora wines even gave rise to the now-vital natural or orange wine movement (or at least its central influences) in Italy.

IGP, DOC & DOCG

With all this diversity, a bit of chaos is almost unavoidable, and so labels and the quality pyramid remained highly chaotic until the 1960s. As a result, the DOC system, modeled on the French system, was introduced. It was finally reformed again in the 1990s and supplemented by strict rules to ensure quality. Table wines now form the basis, followed by country wines, the IGP (Indicazione Geografica Typica). The pinnacle is formed by DOC wines (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) and the highest level, DOCG wines (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), which are subject to the strictest rules regarding minimum alcohol content, planting density, aging, and storage.