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Italy is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world and is the world's second largest wine producer behind France.^[1] Italian wine is exported around the world and is also extremely popular in Italy: Italians lead the world in wine consumption by volume with 70 litres per capita consumption. Grapes are grown in almost every region of the country and there are more than one million vineyards under cultivation.

Etruscans and Greek settlers produced wine in Italy before the Romans started their own vineyards in the 2nd century BC. Roman grape-growing and winemaking was prolific and well-organized, pioneering large-scale production and storage techniques like barrel-making and bottling.^[2]

History[link]

A classical Italian vineyard scene, with vines growing together with olive trees.

Vineyards around the town of Barolo.

Although vines had been cultivated from the wild Vitis vinifera grape for millennia, it wasn't until the Greek colonization that wine-making flourished. Viticulture was introduced into Sicily and southern Italy by the Mycenaean Greeks,^[3] and was well established when the extensive Greek colonization transpired around 800 BC.^[4][5] It was during the Roman defeat of the Carthaginians (acknowledged masters of wine-making) in the 2nd century BC that Italian wine production began to further flourish. Large-scale, slave-run plantations sprang up in many coastal areas and spread to such an extent that, in AD 92, emperor Domitian was forced to destroy a great number of vineyards in order to free up fertile land for food production.

During this time, viticulture outside of Italy was prohibited under Roman law. Exports to the provinces were reciprocated in exchange for more slaves, especially from Gaul where trade was intense, according to Pliny, due to the inhabitants being besotted with Italian wine, drinking it unmixed and without restraint.^[6] It was customary to mix wine with a good proportion of water which may otherwise have been unpalatable, making wine drinking a fundamental part of early Italian life.

As the laws on provincial viticulture were relaxed, vast vineyards began to flourish in the rest of Europe, especially Gaul (present day France) and Hispania. This coincided with the cultivation of new vines, like biturica (ancestor of the Cabernets). These vineyards became hugely successful, to the point that Italy ultimately became an import centre for provincial wines.^[2]

Depending on the vintage, modern Italy is the world's largest or second largest wine producer. In 2005, production was about 20% of the global total, second only to France, which produced 26%. In the same year, Italy's share in dollar value of table wine imports into the U.S. was 32%, Australia's was 24%, and France's was 20%. Along with Australia, Italy's market share has rapidly increased in recent years.^[7]

Italian appellation system[link]

Italy's classification system has four classes of wine, with two falling under the EU category Quality Wine Produced in a Specific Region (QWPSR) and two falling under the category of 'table wine'. The four classes are:

Table Wine:

• Vino da Tavola (VDT) - Denotes simply that the wine is made in Italy. The label usually indicates a basic wine, made for local consumption.

• Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) - Denotes wine from a more specific region within Italy. This appellation was created in 1992 for wines that were considered to be of higher quality than simple table wines, but which did not conform to the strict wine laws for their region. Before the IGT was created, "Super Tuscan" wines such as Tignanello were labeled Vino da Tavola.

QWPSR:

• Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC)
• Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG)

Both DOC and DOCG wines refer to zones which are more specific than an IGT, and the permitted grapes are also more specifically defined. The DOC system began in 1963, seeking to establish a method of both recognizing quality product and maintaining the international and national reputation of that product. The main difference between a DOC and a DOCG is that the latter must pass a blind taste test for quality in addition to conforming to the strict legal requirements to be designated as a wine from the area in question. After the sweeping wine laws of 1992, transparent rules were made regarding requirements for DOCG entry, imposing new limits regarding the production of grapes per hectare and minimum natural alcohol levels, among others.

The overall goal of the system is to encourage producers to focus on quality wine making.^[8]

Presently, there are 120 IGT zones. In February 2006, there were 311 DOC plus 32 DOCG appellations, according to the PDF document V.Q.P.R.D. Vini (DOCG – DOC): Elenco e Riferimenti Normativi al 07.02.2006, published by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture.

Geographical characteristics[link]

Important wine-relevant geographic characteristics of Italy include:

• The extensive latitudinal range of the country permits wine growing from the Alps in the north to almost-within-sight of Africa in the south;
• The fact that Italy is a peninsula with a long shoreline, contributes moderating climate to coastal wine regions;
• The extensive mountains and foothills provide many altitudes for grape growing and a variety of climate and soil conditions.

Italian wine regions[link]

Italy's 20 wine regions correspond to the 20 administrative regions. Understanding of Italian wine becomes clearer with an understanding of the differences between each region; their cuisines reflect their indigenous wines, and vice-versa. The 36 DOCG wines are located in 13 different regions but most of them are concentrated in Piedmont and Tuscany. Among these are appellations appreciated and sought after by wine lovers around the world: Barolo, Barbaresco, and Brunello di Montalcino (colloquially known as the "Killer B's").

The regions are, roughly from Northwest to Southeast:

Italian Wine Regions

• Aosta Valley
• Piedmont
• Liguria
• Lombardy
• Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia
• Veneto
• Emilia-Romagna
• Tuscany
• Marche
• Umbria
• Lazio
• Abruzzo
• Molise
• Campania
• Basilicata
• Apulia
• Calabria
• Sicily
• Sardinia

Italian wine varieties[link]

Italy's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MIRAF), has documented over 350 grapes and granted them "authorized" status. There are more than 500 other documented varieties in circulation as well. The following is a list of the most common and important of Italy's many grape varieties.

Bianco (White)[link]

• Arneis - A crisp and floral variety from Piedmont, which has been grown there since the 15th century.

• Catarratto - Common in Sicily - this is the most widely planted white variety in Salaparuta.

• Fiano - Grown on the southwest coast of Italy, the wines from this grape can be described as dewy and herbal, often with notes of pinenut and pesto.

• Garganega - The main grape variety for wines labeled Soave, this is a crisp, dry white wine from the Veneto wine region of Italy. It's a very popular wine that hails from northeast Italy around the city of Verona. Currently, there are over 3,500 distinct producers of Soave.

• Malvasia Bianca - Another white variety that peeks up in all corners of Italy with a wide variety of clones and mutations. Can range from easy quaffers to funky, musty whites.

• Moscato - Grown mainly in Piedmont, it is mainly used in the slightly-sparkling (frizzante), semi-sweet Moscato d'Asti. Not to be confused with moscato giallo and moscato rosa, two Germanic varietals that are grown in Trentino Alto-Adige.

• Nuragus - An ancient Phoenician variety found in southern Sardegna. Light and tart wines that are drunk as an apertif in their homeland.

• Pigato - A heavily acidic variety from Liguria, the wines are vinified to pair with a cuisine rich in seafood.

• Pinot Grigio - A hugely successful commercial grape (known as Pinot Gris in France), its wines are characterized by crispness and cleanness. As a hugely mass-produced wine, it is usually delicate and mild, but in a good producers' hands, the wine can grow more full-bodied and complex. The main problem with the grape is that to satisfy the commercial demand, the grapes are harvested too early every year, leading to wines without character.

• Ribolla Gialla - A Slovenian grape that now makes its home in Friuli, these wines are decidedly old-world, with aromas of pineapple and mustiness.

• Tocai Friulano - A variety distantly related to Sauvignon Blanc, it yields the top wine of Friuli, full of peachiness and minerality. Currently, there is a bit of controversy regarding the name, as the EC has demanded it changed to avoid confusion with the Tokay dessert wine from Hungary.

• Trebbiano - This is the most widely planted white varietal in Italy. It is grown throughout the country, with a special focus on the wines from Abruzzo and from Lazio, including Frascati. Mostly, they are pale, easy drinking wines, but trebbiano from producers such as Valentini have been known to age for 15+ years. It is known as Ugni Blanc in France.

• Verdicchio - This is grown in the areas of Castelli di Jesi and Matelica in the Marche region and gives its name to the varietal white wine made from it. The name comes from "verde" (green). The white wines are noted for their high acidity and a characteristic nutty flavour with a hint of honey.

• Vermentino - This is widely planted in northern Sardinia and also found in Tuscan and Ligurian coastal districts. Wines are particularly popular to accompany fish and seafood.

• Passerina - mainly derives from Passerina grapes (it may even be produced purely with these), plus a minimum percentage of other white grapes and may be still, sparkling or passito. In its still version, one appreciates the acidic profile, which is typical of these grapes, as well as the delicate aromas.

• Pecorino doc - is the most outstanding one among the Piceno DOC wines: the rediscovery of this vine, which only occurred recently, enabled the peculiar features of the wine that was only produced purely in the past to be revealed locally and then to the general public.

• Falerio - DOC Falerio dei Colli Ascolani was instituted in 1975 and later modified in 1994. The regulation was subsequently replaced in 1997 and later regulated again in 2003. Its name is bound to the historic origins of the Piceno region: it does indeed derive from Faleria, an ancient roman city, presently known as Falerone.

Other important whites include Carricante, Coda de Volpe, Cortese, Falanghina, Grechetto, Grillo, Inzolia, Picolit, Traminer, Verduzzo, and Vernaccia.

Non-native varieties that the Italians plant include Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer (sometimes called traminer aromatico), Petite Arvine, Riesling, and many others.

Rosso (Red)[link]

• Aglianico - Considered the "noble varietal of the south," it is primarily grown in Basilicata and Campania. The name is derived from Hellenic, so it is considered a Greek transplant. Thick skinned and spicy, the wines are often both rustic and powerful.

• Barbera - The most widely grown red wine grape of Piedmont and Southern Lombardy, most famously around the towns of Asti and Alba, and Pavia. The wines of Barbera were once simply "what you drank while waiting for the Barolo to be ready." With a new generation of wine makers, this is no longer the case. The wines are now meticulously vinified, aged Barbera gets the name "Barbera Superiore" (Superior Barbera), sometimes aged in French barrique becoming "Barbera Barricato", and intended for the international market. The wine has bright cherry fruit, a very dark color, and a food-friendly acidity.

• Corvina - Along with the varietals rondinella and molinara, this is the principal grape which makes the famous wines of the Veneto: Valpolicella and Amarone. Valpolicella wine has dark cherry fruit and spice. After the grapes undergo passito (a drying process), the wine is now called Amarone, and is extremely high in alcohol (16% and up) and full of raisin, prune, and syrupy fruits. Some Amarones can age for 40+ years and command spectacular prices. In December 2009, there was celebration when the acclaimed Amarone di Valpolicella was finally awarded its long-sought DOCG status.^[9]

• Dolcetto - A grape that grows alongside Barbera and Nebbiolo in Piedmont, its name means "little sweet one"", referring not to the taste of the wine, but the ease in which it grows and makes great wines, suitable for everyday drinking. Flavors of concord grape, wild blackberries and herbs permeate the wine.

• Malvasia Nera - Red Malvasia varietal from Piedmont. A sweet and perfumed wine, sometimes elaborated in the passito style.

• Montepulciano - The grape of this name is not to be confused with the Tuscan town of Montepulciano; it is most widely planted on the opposite coast in Abruzzo. Its wines develop silky plum-like fruit, friendly acidity, and light tannin. More recently, producers have been creating a rich, inky, extracted version of this wine, a sharp contrast to the many inferior bottles produced in the past.^[10]

• Nebbiolo - The most noble of Italy's varieties. The name (meaning "little fog") refers to the autumn fog that blankets most of Piedmont where Nebbiolo is chiefly grown, and where it achieves the most successful results. A difficult grape variety to cultivate, it produces the most renowned Barolo and Barbaresco, made in province of Cuneo, along with the lesser-known Sforzato, Inferno and Sassella made in Valtellina, Ghemme and Gattinara, made in Vercelli's province. The wines are known for their elegance and power with a bouquet of wild mushroom, truffle, roses, and tar. Traditionally produced Barolo can age for fifty years-plus, and is regarded by many wine enthusiasts as the greatest wine of Italy.^[11]

• Negroamaro - The name literally means "black and bitter". A widely planted grape with its concentration in the region of Puglia, it is the backbone of the Salice Salentino: spicy, toasty, and full of dark red fruits.

• Nero d'Avola - Nearly unheard of in the international market until recent years, this native varietal of Sicily is gaining attention for its plummy fruit and sweet tannins. The quality of nero d'avola has surged in recent years.^[12]

• Primitivo - A red grape planted found in southern Italy, most notably in Puglia. Primitivo is robust and rustic, with spicy black fruit notes, and thrives in very warm climates, where it can achieve very high alcohol levels.

• Sagrantino - A native to Umbria, it is only planted on 250 hectares, but the wines produced from it (either blended with Sangiovese as Rosso di Montefalco or as a pure Sagrantino) are world-renowned. Inky purple, with rustic brooding fruit and heavy tannins, these wines can age for many years.

• Sangiovese - Italy's claim to fame, the pride of Tuscany. Traditionally made, the wines are full of cherry fruit, earth, and cedar. It produces Chianti (Classico), Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montepulciano, Montefalco Rosso, and many others. Sangiovese is also the backbone in many of the acclaimed, modern-styled "Super-Tuscans", where it is blended with Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc) and typically aged in French oak barrels, resulting a wine primed for the international market in the style of a typical California cabernet: oaky, high-alcohol, and a ripe, jammy, fruit-forward profile.^[13]

• Rosso Piceno - The prestigious Rosso Piceno DOC, instituted by the Regulation in 1968 and later modified in 1997 and in 2005, was the first DOC wine to be produced on this land. The history of this wine is age-old and its name dates back to the pre-Roman Piceno population.

• Rosso Piceno Superiore - he Rosso Piceno Superiore labelled wine is produced in a limited area (just 13 municipalities are authorised) in the province of Ascoli Piceno and differs from Rosso Piceno in view of its additional refinement in wood, which gives the wine even richer and more variegated sensations and aromas, often turning it into a meditation gem.

Other major red varieties are Ciliegolo, Gaglioppo, Lagrein, Lambrusco, Monica, Nerello Mascalese, Pignolo, Primitivo (Zinfandel in California), Refosco, Schiava, Schiopettino, Teroldego, and Uva di Troia.

"International" varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah are also widely grown.

Super Tuscans[link]

The term "Super Tuscan" describes any Tuscan red wine that does not adhere to traditional blending laws for the region. For example, Chianti Classico wines are made from a blend of grapes with Sangiovese as the dominant variety in the blend. Super Tuscans often use other grapes, especially cabernet sauvignon, making them ineligible for DOC(G) classification under the traditional rules.

In 1968 Azienda Agricola San Felice produced the first ever "Super Tuscan" called Vigorello, and in the 1970s Piero Antinori, whose family had been making wine for more than 600 years, also decided to make a richer wine by eliminating the white grapes from the Chianti blend, and instead adding Bordeaux varietals (namely, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot). He was inspired by a little-known (at the time) Cabernet Sauvignon made by relatives called Sassicaia, which openly flouted the rules set down for traditional wines in Tuscany. The result was one of the first Super Tuscans, which he named Tignanello, after the vineyard where the grapes were grown. Other winemakers started experimenting with Super Tuscan blends of their own shortly thereafter.

Because these wines did not conform to strict DOC(G) classifications, they were initially labeled as vino da tavola, meaning "table wine," a term ordinarily reserved for lower quality wines. The creation of the Indicazione Geografica Tipica category (technically indicating a level of quality between vino da tavola and DOCG) helped bring Super Tuscans "back into the fold" from a regulatory standpoint. Since the pioneering work of the super-Tuscans there has been a rapid expansion in production of high-quality wines throughout Italy that do not qualify for DOC or DOCG classification, as a result of the efforts of a new generation of Italian wine producers and, in some cases, flying winemakers.

Wine guides[link]

Many international wine guides and wine publications rate the more well-known Italian wines. Among the Italian publications, Gambero Rosso is the most influential. In particular, the wines that annually are rated with the highest rating of "three glasses" (Tre Bicchieri) attract much attention.

Vino cotto[link]

Vino cotto (literally cooked wine) is a form of wine from Marche, Abruzzo and Calabria in Southern Italy. It is typically made by individuals for their own use, rather than commercially, however, now becoming more popular and also known to chefs. The must, from any of several local varieties of grapes, is heated in a copper vessel where it is reduced in volume by up to a third. The must is not to undergo fermentation before it is heated. Once reduced and allowed to cool it is aged in storage for a few years. It is a ruby-colored wine, somewhat similar to Madeira, being slightly sweet with no alcohol content.

See also[link]

Wine portal

• History of Chianti
• List of Italian DOC wines
• List of Italian DOCG wines
• List of Italian IGT wines
• Old World wine

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• La Sicilia del Vino, di S. Barresi, E. Iachello, E. Magnano di San Lio, A. Gabbrielli, S. Foti, P. Sessa. Fotografia Giò Martorana, Giuseppe Maimone Editore, Catania 2003

External links[link]

• ItalianMade: Italian Wines, from the Italian Trade Commission
• Picenos: Italian Wines, from the Consorzio Vini Piceni Italiani

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Kevin Zraly is an American wine educator and the founder of the Windows on the World Wine School, who has been described as America's most famous and entertaining wine teacher.^[1][2]

Between 1976 and 2001,^[3] Zraly held the position of wine director for the Windows on the World restaurant, on the top floors of New York's 1 WTC World Trade Center, America's top-grossing restaurant.^[4] Zraly was hired by Joe Baum whilst a 25-year-old wine salesman and self-educated oenophile with a bachelor’s degree in education from SUNY New Paltz,^[3] and is since credited with introducing California wine to the American public,^[5] as well as helping to pioneer the use of progressive markup on wine in US restaurants.^[6] After the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the school relocated to the New York Marriott Marquis.^[7][8]

Zraly's book Windows on the World Complete Wine Course with its annual updates, is among America's best-selling wine books selling over 3 million copies worldwide,^[1] and Kevin Zraly's American Wine Guide (2006) is the first book that deals comprehensively with all 50 states as modern wine-producing states.^[5] Kevin's latest book, The Ultimate Wine Companion, will be released in November 2010.

In 2007, Zraly and Robert Parker launched the Parker & Zraly Wine Certification Program.^[9]

In May 2011, Zraly was awarded the prestigious James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award.^[10]

See also[link]

• List of wine personalities

References[link]

Footnotes

External links[link]

• Kevin Zraly's Windows On The World Wine School official site