Learn About Italian Wines

Just like the country's gastronomy, Italian wines enjoy great popularity throughout the world.

Mieux connaître les vins italiens

THE POPULARITY OF ITALIAN WINES

Italian wines are the fiercest competition to French wines in terms of volume. Few countries can boast such a diversity of grape varieties, appellations and wine styles. Like the country's gastronomy, Italy's wines enjoy great popularity throughout the world. In this country of traditions, the terroir is honoured with ever greater authenticity. Nowadays, passionate and deeply rooted winemakers know how to reinvent themselves to offer ever more inspiring wines. Ancestral methods rub shoulders with modern technological advances. Thanks to the appearance of regulations governing the country's wine production (1936 and 1992), the requirements of the specifications of the appellations are based on those of the European Union for greater precision and quality guaranteeing the origin of the terroir. This is a way of classifying the richness of the Italian wine heritage for greater international influence. It is not surprising to see Italian wines on the tables of the greatest starred chefs. And when it comes to gastronomy, Italians do not compromise!

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Antiquité : amphore de vin romain

ITALIAN WINES AHEAD OF FRENCH WINES

The title of "the wine country" historically belongs to the Italians. It is not for nothing that in ancient times the Greeks called Italy "Oenotria" (the land of wine). The Etruscans were already cultivating vines here in the 4th century BC, especially in the centre of the peninsula. Mastering the grafting technique, they exported wine onto the Mediterranean sea routes. Then it was the Romans, fond of the beverage, who left it as a legacy to Gaul after their conquests.

All regions of the country produce wine, from Veneto to Sicily, and even the island of Pantelleria, near the Tunisian coast. Italy's land is varied, dominated mainly by limestone and volcanic soils. The mild Mediterranean climate offers sunshine that is ideal for growing vines.

Bouchon de vin italien

ITALIAN WINES: IN CONSTANT PROGRESS

Known mainly for its Chianti, Bardolino or Lambrusco, Italy has made constant efforts to improve its range of wines over the past thirty years. This perseverance allows it to be recognised today for red wines with good ageing potential from Tuscany, Piedmont and Veneto. Regions such as Puglia and Sicily have been able to break away from their image as producers of ordinary wines. Italy is also not to be outdone in producing sweet wines, dry white wines and sparkling wines such as frizzante. The success of Prosecco is proof of this: increasingly known outside Italy, Prosecco is so refined that it can rival champagne when it comes to choosing a sparkling wine for special occasions.

Amabile: semi-dry
Classico: wine from a production area restricted to the registered designation of origin
Dolce: mellow sweet wine
Frizzante: slightly sparkling wine with a lower pressure than a fully sparkling (spumante) wine
Liquoroso: this term can be misleading, as it does not refer to a sweet wine but to a fortified wine
Metodo Classico: sparkling wine made using the traditional method (same as Champagne)
Novello: designates a new wine
Passito: wine made from partially dried grapes (e.g. Amarone, Recioto)
Ripasso: red wine that has undergone refermentation on the left over grape skins from making a passito wine (such as Amarone della Valpolicella) resulting in a more complex and structured wine
Riserva: indicates a wine (DOC or DOCG) that has been aged for a longer period. The terms vecchio and stravecchio (very old) are sometimes used
Secco: dry wine
Spumante: sparkling wine
Superiore: corresponds to a higher alcohol content than a normal wine

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Enjoy its wines produced in the exceptional Apulia region

THE APPELLATIONS OF ITALIAN WINES ARE BASED ON THE EUROPEAN SPECIFICATIONS:

Table wines : Vino di tavola
Local wines : Indicazione geografica tipica (IGT)
The AOCs : Denomnazione di origine controllata (DOC)
High-level AOCs : Denomnazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG)

In 1992, the Goria law defined a new regulation of the denominations of origin already outlined in 1963. The European legislation superseded the national legislation which favoured the fame and talent of the winemaker rather than relying on the notion of terroir. It is therefore necessary to know how to differentiate between wines dating from before 1992 and more recent wines which must give the year on the label (vendemmia, or annata).

The climate traditionally allows for several winemaking methods resulting in this diversity in wine typicity. For example, Italian sweet wines, less well known than Italian red wines, owe their sweetness to the specificities of the climate but also to the topography of the vineyard. The late summer temperatures in the northern plains are high because the mountains in the north-east protect the vines from the cold winds. In autumn, the dry and sunny climate favours passerillage (natural drying of the grapes to increase the sugar content of the juice), while the humidity of the fog rising from the water currents accelerates the development of a fungus (Botrytis Cinerea) which provides what is called "noble rot".

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Récolte et production de vin en Italie

THE ITALIANS, GREAT CONSUMERS OF WINE

Italy is competitive in the production and sale of wines (almost 40% of exports). But it also likes to drink it. With an average of 46 litres drunk per year per inhabitant, it is one of the biggest consumers in the world.