North

The eight northern regions produce about a third of Italian wine, though they account for more than half of the DOC/DOCG total. The leading region for volume of classified wines is Veneto, where Verona's Soave and Valpolicella head production. Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia have sterling reputations for white wines, though they are increasingly admired for reds. Lombardy is noted for aged reds from the Alpine Valtellina and classical sparkling wines from the hills of Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese. The north's most vaunted reds are Barolo and Barbaresco of Piemonte, a region that also makes Gattinara, Barbera, Dolcetto and sparkling sweet Asti. A byproduct of wine is grappa, which was long considered a common sort of spirit. But class has been upgraded dramatically in recent times by distillers in Friuli, Veneto, Trentino and Piemonte, whose grappa often comes from select grape varieties and specific vineyards. 

 

Central

The six central regions between them produce less than a quarter of Italy's wines, yet they account for more than a third of the DOC/DOCG total. The so-called renaissance in Italian wine gained impetus in Tuscany, renowned not only for the classics of Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano but also for unclassified reds sometimes lauded as "Super Tuscans." The red Montepulciano of the Abruzzo has won growing acclaim, though the best known wines of other regions are white: the Marches with Verdicchio, Umbria with Orvieto and Latium with Frascati and other wines of the Castelli Romani.

 

South

The six regions produce about 40 percent of Italian wines, though only a fraction of the classified DOC/DOCG. Still, in vineyards that were long sources of anonymous blending wines, Puglia and Sicilia in the forefront, the emphasis is increasingly on premium quality. The southern wines of greatest historical stature were sweet and fortified. But trends everywhere favor dry, balanced reds, many suited for aging, and fresh, fruity whites and roses.

 

 

Please select a wine region of interest from the map. A description of the region will be displayed, along with links to that region's producers and wines.