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Overview: Italy is the largest producer of
wine in the world. It also exports more wine than any other
country. Wines from Italy offer excellent selections in
quality, price and value. Italy is remarkable because every one
of its regions produces wine. The northern areas are generally
cooler, very much like the Bordeaux region of France, whereas
the southern regions have warmer temperatures, similar to
California. |
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- Abruzzo:
(L'Aquila,
Chieti, Pescara, Teramo) Italy's smallest wine region
that produces wines distinctive from any other Italian
region
- Apulia:
(Bari, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, Taranto) located at the heel
of the Italian boot, a long, relatively level region with a
prolific production of wine
-
Basilicata: (Matera,
Potenza) also known as Lucania; bitterly cold region that
only produces one DOC wine
- Calabria:
(Reggio Calabria, Cosenza, Catanzaro, Crotone, Vibo Valentia)
forms the toe of the Italian boot; diverse microclimates;
most famous wine - Ciro
-
Campania: (Naples, Avellino, Benevento, Caserta,
Salerno) region currently undergoing changes to improve wine
quality; is now producing DOC and DOCG wines
- Emilia
Romagna: (Bologna, Ferrara, Forlė, Modena, Piacenza,
Parma, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia, Rimini) famous for very
individualistic wines
- Friuli
Veneza Giulia: (Trieste, Gorizia, Pordenone, Udine)
small northeast region that sets the pace for Italian white
wines
- Latium:
(Rome, Frosinone, Latina, Rieti, Viterbo) region that
produces over 90% white wines including the famous Est! Est!
Est! wines
- Liguria:
(Genoa, Imperia, La Spezia, Savona) rugged terrain results
in limited wine production although many are well worth the
effort
-
Lombardy: (Milan, Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Lecco,
Lodi, Mantova, Pavia, Sondrio, Varese) Italy's most populous
and prosperous region well known for excessive wine
consumption rather than production
- Marches:
(Ancona, Ascoli Piceno, Macerata, Pesaro) peaceful Adriatic
region know for Verdecchio (you may know it as "the fish
bottle")
- Molise:
(Campobasso, Isernia) sunny region known for its DOC wines
Biferno and Pentro di Isernia; very limited
wine production that will probably increase in the future
due to its favorable climate
-
Piedmont: (Turin, Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Cuneo,
Novara, Verbania, Vercelli) strong in tradition, a region
renowned for wines from native varieties; Barolo and
Barbaresco are among this region's most admired wines.
-
Sardinia: (Cagliari, Nuoro, Oristano, Sassari) an island
in the Mediterranean that has been influenced just as much
by foreigners as by Italians; wines produced are
distinguished in personality and for the most part, unique
in Italy
- Sicily:
(Palermo, Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, Messina,
Ragusa, Siracusa, Trapani) This island, the largest in the
Mediterranean, has more vineyards than any other Italian
region; shifting wine emphasis from quanitity to quality
- Trentino
Alto Adige: (Bolzano, Trento) Italy's northernmost
region that boasts quality wines due to the fact that only
about 15% of the land is suitable for vine growth; about 3/4
of wines produced are DOC wines
- Tuscany:
(Florence, Arezzo, Grosseto, Leghorn, Lucca, Massa Carrara,
Prato, Pisa, Pistoia, Siena) the nation's most dynamic
producer of premium wines; well known for its Chianti in
straw-covered flasks
- Umbria:
(Perugia, Terni) known as the "green heart of Italy"; once
most famous for its whites however its two DOCG wines are
reds
- Valle
d'Aosta: (Aosta) produces miniscule amounts of wine
distinctive from anywhere else
- Veneto:
(Venice, Belluno, Padua, Rovigo, Treviso, Vicenza, Verona)
Italy's largest producer of wine with a major share
classified as DOC or DOCG
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Quality Levels |
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The classification of
Italian wines is characterized by three significant factors:
Origin, Intrinsic Quality, and Purity
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DOCG
(Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita):
awarded to DOC wines that have held an outstanding
reputation for more than 5 years; strictest limitations
of areas and yields per hectare; these wines must be
sold in containers smaller than 5 liters and must bear a
'state mark' guaranteeing origin and quality
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DOC
(Denominazione di Origine Controllata: these wines must
conform to government regulations about which grape
varieties are used, exactly where they are grown, and
the manner in which the wine is made
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IGT
(Indicazione Geografica Tipica): this refers to an area
in which the grapes are grown and vinified
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Vino da
Tavola (Table Wine): wines without specific origins;
The only requirements for this designation are to give
the color, the name of the producing winery, and its
trademark.
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