A shortish guide to help you navigate the great wine regions of Italy

Italy makes some of the most popular wines in the world; has more indigenous varieties than anywhere else; and often outstrips France in production.

In contrast to France where a few great regions and varieties make it easier to navigate and understand, Italy is a unique patchwork of varieties, towns, regions and processes which demand understanding on their own terms. Italy is a complex beast but like the most demanding literature or music (like reading Of Human Bondage or hearing OK Computer for the first time) the effort is more than repaid.

Of all the different regions and types of wine, some areas have found most of the international success. The reasons why they have risen to prominence range from historic associations, quality product and good marketing.


Despite Italy lacking France's fine wine heritage, it produces some distinctively interesting and delicious flavours and styles. In fact, you could make a strong argument for it being the most exciting winemaking nation due to each region having its own personality and variety. Classification of wines is not completely straightforward with DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) acting as equivalent to France’s AOC; DOCG (as above but with an added ‘Garantita’) providing guaranteed ‘control’; simple Vino da Tavola or table wine which means basic wine sold in 3 litre plastic bottles at the side of the road or sought after artisan bottlings; and IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) alongside its region or area of origin.

Likewise, there is no single naming convention for wines, with some like Chianti and Barolo referencing their place of origin and others like Barbera or Primitivo referencing their variety. The best way like all things is to learn new things is to experience it and Italian wine demands experiencing. 

Piemonte is a landlocked region in the northwestern part of Italy, with Turin as its capital and Milan as its neighbour. It is one of the world’s epicurean capitals, offering the estimable ‘

 movement, meaty pasta you’d sell a relative for (even one you like), truffles (likewise depending on the size of your family), and of course world class red wine.

Nebbiolo from the Langhe hills south of Turin makes Italy’s vinous heavyweights, Barolo and Barbaresco. The best, as with top burgundy, express a specific vineyard. Barbera often aged in wood, and Dolcetto (‘little sweet one') are made in greater volumes and act as helpful gateways to the bittersweet cherry high you need and love (to paraphrase Mr. Bourdain). This is also the home of wine’s own fizzy pop, Asti, the Moscato before commoditisation. To the north, at the foot of the Aosta valley, which produces some ethereally fresh, high altitude wines, is another cluster of tantalising pale Nebbiolo-based reds carrying names such as Bramaterra, Gattinara, Ghemme and Lessona Boca. 

For those who haven’t been, you will have heard eulogies about a place as close to heaven or paradise as is possible on God’s green earth. They’re right. Beautiful scenery (reminiscent of the Elysian Fields scene towards the end of Gladiator filmed at Val d’Orcia near Siena); the epicentre of the greatest artistic movement of the last millennia, The Renaissance; beautiful food which will likely encourage familial sacrifice if you have any left after Piemonte; and excellent, and varied wines.

Tuscany (Toscana in Italian) features two important regions in Chianti and Montalcino, with Sangiovese the key variety. It is medium bodied, and made to be enjoyed with good food complementing distinctive sour cherry, Mediterranean herbal characters like oregano and thyme, and tannic freshness.

Chianti is made in large quantities in the dreamy, cypress dotted slopes south of Florence, with the best coming from the centrally located Chianti Classico zone (in Italy 'Classico' means the core vineyard area before commercially driven expansion). It became a victim of its own success (and corner cutting producers eager to make an easy lira) but diligent makers in conducive locations make some of Italy and the world's greatest wines. The grape is predominantly Sangiovese with other blends mandated.

Montalcino is a town located in the southern part of the region, and the key wines to know are Rosso di Montalcino and Brunello di Montalcino. Both are made from 100% Sangiovese, with Brunello richer and earthier, and Rosso lighter and fruitier. Rosso, being aged less and less expensive to produce is the great 'Tuesday night' equivalent to the more concentrated, long living and serious 'Saturday night' Brunello. 

Wines of note made outside of Chianti and Montalcino are called Super Tuscans. Made from international Bordeaux varietals including Cab Sab, Merlot and also Syrah since the '60s; they're big, boozy, hugely successful and are more Bordeaux than Napa in profile. 

As with many regions, Italy especially, sometimes it's best to explore, learn and find a producer you trust. Inspired by the hit that is Sassicaia, savvy producers on the Tuscan coast around Bolgheri make Bordeaux blends that appeal to a wealthy, global consumer. The whites are dominated by Trebbiano Tuscano – equivalent to France's Ugni Blanc which is used to make brandy – and the sweet wine is the sweet, complex and surprisingly light Vin Santo made from dried Malvasia grapes.

Sicily is the warmest and most historically contested part of Italy, having played host to the Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Moors and Normans 'visitors' over the two millennia give or take. For many years, much of the wine exported beyond its shores was cheap, bulk plonk, usually designated Nero d'Avola. Similar to nearby Puglia (and distant Languedoc), it played second fiddle to its illustrious northern peers but from the 90s onwards, some clear sighted producers invested time in native varieties. The result is one of the most exciting wine regions in the world, not least for its role in elevating the role and status of mediterranean islands varieties grown on volcanic soils.

In the west, the underestimated Catarratto is the main white (with citrus, tropical fruit and spicy flavour profile), and Nero d'Avola is its red equivalent (with its simple sweet cherry fruit profile). The eastern vineyards are much more varied. Etna is hot (pun intended), producing pure, light, richly flavoured wines which show some of their smokey origins. Nerello Mascalese is Pinot Noir's wilder aromatic sibling and Nerello Cappuccio also features. Etna has its own microclimate with the peak cold and snowy and the valley tropical, which come together to make wines of unique interest. The reds are light, pure, complex and can be aged for many years. The whites are fresh, saline and lightly sweet.

Campanian vineyards have been producing wines predating the Romans. The most popular are Aglianico and Falanghina varieties. Aglianico is richly flavoured, tannic, plummy and mineral. Falanghina is refreshing and crisp. Both the reds and the whites have good ageing potential (some mature reds in particular have seared themselves on our memory).

White: Friulano, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Bianco, Ribolla Gialla

Friuli is known for its aromatic whites, including Ribolla Gialla, Friulano, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. The wines show distinctive freshness, minerality, freshness and complexity, making it an appealing destination for white wine fans.

It is known as the birthplace of the new wave of funky, tannic, orangey whites fermented in contact with grapes and aged in amphorae. This movement spread to Slovenia – lying just across the border – and together they make some of the most exciting and complex wines available today.

Verdicchio is most associated with this part of the Adriatic coast, and treated well has true ageing potential, retaining its distinctive citrus fruit flavours (including lemon and grapefruit) and nutty almond character. Local reds, Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno are made from various proportions of Montepulciano and Sangiovese, and show red berry fruits, soft tannins and crispness.

Red: Negroamaro, Primitivo (Zinfandel), Nero di Troia, Malvasia Nera

It is known as the nation's breadbasket growing durum wheat (used for pasta), olives, tomatoes, artichokes, figs, honey, and its wines are similarly generous. For many years, this beautiful, historically neglected heel on Italy's stiletto provided the fruity base for more expensive wines made in the north (in much the same way as Languedoc and Bordeaux). The reds are powerfully fruity with heft and sweetness, and the whites are rich and weighty. 

Red: Carignano (Carignan), Cannonau (Grenache)

This beautiful, sun baked island produces fragrant, dry Vermentino (including the elevated Vermentino di Gallura), and a rich, smokey variant on Carignan, Carignano del Sulcis, which is made to the south.

White: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc

Alto Adige and its clear mountain air produce beautifully pure, fruit driven wines, drawing from a good range of varietally distinct bottlings. It is known as southern Tyrol in German, reflecting the historic commingling between Italy and its Austrian neighbour. Further down the valley, Trentino connects the two countries with many vineyards contributing juice for fizzy wines, the best of which carry the Trento DOC classification.

This region near Venice was traditionally associated with Valpolicella and Soave, but the cultural and commercial phenomena that is Prosecco rules the roost. Originally named after the Proscecco grape, it has since updated to Glera so as to register and maintain the exclusivity of the region. Soave is still made – and thanks to its variability rewards a selective eye and palate – while red grapes are picked late and dried to produce the seductive and lucrative Amarone della Valpolicella.

Red: Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

Umbria, located just south of Tuscany, is famous for its super tannic, red Sagrantino grape produced at Montefalco. Ovieto's dry whites are made from native Grechetto, Verdello, Procanico and Canaiolo Blanco varieties.