Wine from Italy

Italy has the oldest and richest wine heritage in the world, with vast amounts of land traditionally used for wine production. Italy produces a huge quantity of wine of many different varieties. Winemaking in Italy dates back to before 200 years BC.

Italy as a peninsula provides an excellent environment for viticulture. Italian lakes and mountains are perfect for thousands of varieties of grapes to thrive and flourish. Years of expertise and an eye for quality have helped in cultivating grapes perfectly in sync with the climatic conditions.

To better manage and control wine production and distribution, the Italian government has designated twenty provinces. All of these provinces produce wine, some are known for the quantity while others more for the quality. Of these, the most notable provinces are Tuscany, Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Piedmont.

Some of the most world renowned brands of wine are Italian. Tuscany takes pride in Chianti, Brunello and Vino Nobile while Veneto produces the famous Amarone della Valpolicella.

Italian wines are broadly categorized into four groups based more so on the region and expertise than the type of grapes used. These are Vini Da Tavola (VDT), Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT), Denominazione d'Origine Controllata (DOC), and Denominazione d'Origine Controllata e Garanta (DOCG).