Italy is perhaps most famous for the red wines of tuscany, known most commonly as chianti, a region that produces sangiovese wine. Lombardy emiliaromagna marche umbria lazio abruzzo molise puglia campania basilicata. With vineyards established by the greek settlers as early as 800 bc, italy is one of the oldest and largest wine producing regions in the world. Study 101 terms wineregions italy flashcards quizlet. Its known for high quality and produces more docg denominazione di origine controllata e garantita italys top wine classification designated wines than any other region.
The list of italian wine regions is organized by highest volume of doc wines. Italy produces a huge amount of table wine, vermouth, and cooking wines such as marsala. Italys myriad wine regions offer a challenge and deep satisfaction to wine lovers. With over 1,000 indigenous grape varieties, it is no wonder that all regions in the country have a rich tradition with the vine. The following description of 7 italian regions is meant to provide a basic guide, which will be supplemented in articles to come. Being the biggest producers of wine in the world, italian wines are kept at a consistently immaculate standard. Detailed italian wine regions map wine posters wine folly. This diversity of grapes and wine styles, combined with such extremely diverse micro climates and the highest percentage of architectural heritage on the planet, makes italy utterly unique and a pleasure to visit. Etruscans were subtle and serene practitioners of the art of winemaking in the hills of central italy, as attested by the art and artifacts left in their spacious tombs.
Veneto romance, history and the floating city of venice make this region of italy a tourist hotspot. They produce almost half of all the wine produced in the world. The diversity of landscapes and grape varieties is out of this world, and as a result, italy produces the most extensive range of wine styles in europe. Wine regions of italy michelin green guide available for download and read online in other formats. The most significant, when both quality and quantity are taken into consideration, are tuscany, piedmont and veneto.
There are 20 unique regions with over 350 different grape varieties ranging from light and bubbly. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Erik neilson is a professional freelance writer based in portland, me. Of italys 20 major wine regions, piedmont ranks 6th in highest production volume. The italian wine region is diverse and can be quite. Italian wine regions naturally, most italian wine regions enjoy a mediterranean climate and a notable coastline, if not coastline on all borders. Italian wine regions and areas can be classified multiple times over, depending on the area, the climate, the history, the grapes, and through an infinite number of other ways. Click here to download a printable pdf of this map. Italys 20 wine regions correspond to the 20 administrative regions. According to oiv international organisation of vine and wine, italy was the biggest wine producer in the world in 2017. Italy is the perfect place to explore the world of winemaking and, of course, taste lots of great wine.
In 2018 italy accounted for 19 percent of global production, ahead of france 17. History winemaking began 4,000 bc prehistoric people crushing wild grapes and the juice magically intoxicated them greeks colonized southern italy and called it oenotria, land of the vine etruscans made wine in the hills of central italy. They spread accross 695 000 hectares in different appellations. Whether you want to detour from florence for a quick tasting or plan your vacation around wine, learn more about six of the countrys best wine regions with this guide. An overview of italys 20 wine regions including the most popular wines and grape varieties. Italian wine is produced in every region of italy, home to some of the oldest wineproducing regions in the world. But with more than 350 official wine varieties and 20 wineproducing regions, it can be. Chianti by the name of the grape from which the wine is made e. The top 3 major wine regions of the world are france, italy, and spain. While italy has done a lot to modernize and simplify in recent decades, to the nonenthusiast wine drinker, italian wines outside of the major areas like piedmont and tuscany can still elicit a. Italy is like no other wine producing country on the planet as the range of grape varietals is mindboggling. Oenotria revisited 17 sicily 19 sardinia 23 calabria 26 basilicata 29 apulia 31 campania 34 central italy. Wine producing regions has 20 wine producing regions produced everywhere in italy wine labels see page 411 4 ways to name an italian wine.
That being said, there are 3 major regions that produce high quality table wines and they are. Italys twenty wine regions have something for everyone, from fullbodied reds in the hills of tuscany to crisp sparkling wines in the northern lakes region and oneofakind varietals at rustic island wineries in sicily. The regions of southern italy, and the island of sicily in particular, are regarded as italys enological frontier. Wine folly offers an extensive collection of wine maps print and digital download. While we as american wine consumers are intimately familiar with at least some italian wines chianti has been popular for decades the countrys scores of other wines can be downright baffling. Italy is divided into 20 administrative regions see left, all of which produce wine to some extent, and all of which contain various wine regions. Within each region there is a hierarchy of docg regions, doc regions, and igt regions, as well as the more generic vino di tavola classifications. Renaissance in the heartland 37 latium 39 molise 42. Pdf wine regions of italy michelin green guide download. The 21 administrative regions in italy form the basis of the wine regions. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. We offer a straightforward vintage ratings table that lays out the best and. Italys southern reaches, dubbed the colonies oenotria, the land of wine.
Higherquality wines can be found in the trentino region and in the northwest area of piedmont. The infographic and map below is your complete introductory guide to frances wines, including the major regions, the grapes that grow there, and their famous blends, along with general facts. Download pdf wine regions of italy michelin green guide book full free. From lombardy in the north to sicily in the south, italy is home to 20 wine regions that grow a rich variety of grapes. With over 500 native grapes found in italy, youre bound to discover new and intriguing wines.
Most italian wines are labeled by region rather than grape variety. Italian wine regions and their major grape varieties. The ancient liguri produced and traded wine in northwestern italy and southeastern france. A short list of leading wine producers is also provided. Each page describes the wines, grapes and terroir of the region in question. Wine grapes grow in every region throughout italya long and narrow bootshaped peninsula extending into the mediterranean. From tuscany to veneto, discover why italy produces some of the best wines in the world. It would take a lifetime of unflinching study to learn all the deep complexities of viticulture here and we will touch only on some of the most important aspects of. Italys regions, its red and white grape varieties, the denominations in which these grapes reach their highest expressions and the flavors wines typically exhibit. It includes all wine regions in italy as well as adjacent wine regions in france, switzerland, slovenia, croatia and tunisia.
The 7 regions consist of veneto and piedmont to the north, tuscany, campania, apulia. This lightly coloured yet powerful red made from sicilys own nero davola and frappato grapes is known as classico around vittoria, where the grapes yield cherryscented wines that. It also includes detailed maps of piedmont docs, docgs and chianti subzones. Understanding of italian wine becomes clearer with an understanding of the differences between each region. Tuscany is certainly the pride of italy, and those who have yet to discover the region will quickly fall in love with its gorgeous takes on the sangiovese grape. Relaxed regulation and increased experimentation promise a bright future for. Grapes will sometimes grow beyond this range, thus minor amounts of wine are made in some rather unexpected places. Italy has a rich, deep history with wine dating back thousands of years. Browse the wine world using the links left, the map below or our custom search box.
Top wine producing regions of the world wine folly. Chardonnay by a combination of name of the grape and the place. The top 3 wine countries make enough wine to fill 5,127 olympicsized swimming pools. This list of wineproducing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. As one of italys largest wine producing regions, the islands promise has begun to emerge with cerasuolo di vittorias promotion to docg classification. Italy is the worlds largest producer of wine, with an area of 702,000 hectares 1,730,000 acres under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 202017 annual average of 48.
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