A Beginner’s Guide to Italian Wine

Wine is an intrinsic part of Italian culture. The country is the world’s largest wine producer, crushing an impressive 44.5 million hectolitres of grapes in 2021. Italy is home to some 500 native grape varieties, which thrive in various soils and climates across the Italian landscape.

Wine has been made and consumed in Italy as far back as 4,000 B.C according to grape seed resin found in clay vases in a Sicilian cave. Viticulture became an established practice by 800 B.C. following the arrival of Greek settlers.

With such a rich winemaking history, Italy has perfected the art of grape growing. Wine is made in Italy’s 20 wine regions, but our guide focuses on the eight most important vine-growing areas. So, if you’re fascinated by Italian wine regions, read on…

For Italian wine lovers everywhere, browse our full range of Italian wines.

Italian Wine Regions to Discover

Tuscany

Tuscany is home to soaring cypress trees and over 70,000 hectares of Sangiovese—Italy's best-known red wine grape variety.

Situated beneath Emilia-Romagna, the region benefits from the cooling influence of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The birthplace of the Renaissance is also the cradle of some of the finest wines in the country, including Sangiovese-based reds Chianti Classico, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino.

The Chianti sub-region stretches south of Florence and includes the Chianti Classico DOCG, nestled in the mountains between Florence and Siena. The wines are characterized by their sour cherry, herb and spice notes. Wines that don’t conform to traditional production rules are labeled as Toscana IGT, Super Tuscans, which can be made entirely from Sangiovese or include international grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. While Tuscany is less known for its whites, those from the Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG are worth seeking.

Piedmont

Revered for its white truffles, hazelnuts and hauntingly beautiful reds, Piedmont sits at the foot of the Alps in the northwest of Italy.

Benefiting from the mountains' cooling influence and the Mediterranean's warming presence, the microclimate makes it perfect for cultivating the red grape Nebbiolo. Nebbiolo forms the backbone of the region’s most famous wines: Barolo and Barbaresco, the best of which are considered among the finest reds in the world.

If you’re looking for easy-drinking lighter reds, it’s worth getting to know Piedmont’s other grape varieties: Barbera and Dolcetto.

On the white front, Cortese—the sole grape in Gavi DOCG—and Roero Arneis lead the way, while the Asti DOCG is famous for its sweet, lightly sparkling Moscato d’Asti, a perfect picnic wine that pairs terrifically well with fruit salad.

Veneto

The Veneto is the birthplace of some of Italy’s most famous wines, from Prosecco to Amarone.

Nestled in the northeastern area of the country, Veneto encompasses diverse terroirs, including the foothills of the majestic Alps to the north with a cool climate ideal for cultivating crisp and refreshing white wine grapes. To the southeast, it is bordered by the Adriatic Sea, providing a diverse range of native grapes and wine styles.

Veneto is Italy’s most prolific wine region, with Prosecco accounting for a large chunk of its annual production. This sparkling wine has captured the imagination of wine lovers around the globe thanks to its easy-drinking appeal and wallet-friendly prices. The best expressions hail from the hillsides of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Cartizze DOCGs.

Two of the region’s top reds—Valpolicella DOC and Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG—are made mainly from native grape Corvina. The former is charming, with its cherry-scented wines, while the latter is revered for its rich character, which stems from the use of partially dried Corvina grapes in the blend.

Emilia-Romagna

The northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna is considered Italy’s food capital and home to several Italian culinary staples, including Parmigiano Reggiano, Parma ham and Modena balsamic vinegar. It is also the land of Lambrusco.

The sparkling red has suffered from an image problem in the past, but its star is on the rise as producers seek to make ever-more elegant expressions from an array of native grapes, including Sorbara, Maestri, Salamino and Grasparossa, which gives the fizz aromas of cherry, blueberry, rhubarb and watermelon. Usually made in a dry or semi-sweet style and almost always as a semi-sparkling ‘frizzante’ wine, Lambrusco’s light, fruity, easy-going nature makes it a perfect pairing for a diverse array of foods, from empanadas to Korean barbecue.

Outside of fizz, the region’s alluvial soils are also home to Sangiovese, Malvasia, Trebbiano and Barbera, with production split evenly between reds and whites.

For an authentic Sangiovese Italian wine from Emilia-Romagna, discover the vibrant, red-fruited Celita Sangiovese 2020.

Abruzzo

Located next to Lazio in the middle of the country on the eastern side, Abruzzo is a mountainous region rich in ancient winemaking traditions. One of Italy’s largest wine-producing areas, Abruzzo is home to the Montepulciano grape—which is not to be confused with the Tuscan region of the same name—where around 86,000 hectares are under vine.

The lion’s share of the Montepulciano planted in Abruzzo is used to produce Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC, the region-wide denomination for red wines made from the grape. These reds are known for their inky color, robust tannins and notes of black fruit, pepper and tobacco. Meanwhile, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC is the denomination for the region’s rosés made from the same variety, and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC is the main white grape of the region.

Puglia

Located in Italy’s far south (on the “heel” of the “boot”), Puglia is famous for its bounty of seasonal vegetables and historic conical-roofed huts called ‘trulli’.

Its wines are also gaining a reputation worldwide due to their powerful, fruity nature and excellent value for money. Given the abundance of sunshine in the south, Puglian reds are rich, ripe and robust, with two native grapes ruling the roost: Primitivo (although originally from Croatia, is Italy’s answer to Zinfandel) and Negroamaro.

Thriving in the region’s center between Bari and Matera, Primitivo from Puglia is a big, bold, full-bodied red boasting notes of blueberries, blackberries, licorice and black pepper, often with hints of chocolate and spice from being aged in American oak. As for Negroamaro, the key is in the name. Meaning ‘black and bitter’ in Italian, the wine has notes of ripe black fruit, cloves, coffee and cinnamon.

Sicily

One of Italy’s most exciting winemaking regions, Sicily’s dry, warm climate and eternal sunshine make it a haven for grape growing, and the region is fast gaining a reputation for its high-quality reds and whites.

On the red front, the island’s flagship grape is Nero d’Avola, which produces juicy, fruit-forward wines with smooth tannins plus cherry, plum and chocolate notes. Native red grape Frappato is an equally easy-going maker of light-bodied, strawberry-scented wines. Its shining star is Nerello Mascalese—Sicily’s answer to Pinot Noir—which thrives in the volcanic soils around Etna.

Regarding whites, seek out peachy expressions made from Grillo and smoky Carricantes from Etna that sing of the volcanic soils in which they’re grown. Sicily is also home to the fortified wine Marsala, made in dry and sweet styles on the island's western side.

Trentino-Alto Adige

As far north as it gets in Italy before you hit Switzerland and Austria, Trentino-Alto Adige offers an incredible mix of Italian and Austro-Hungarian influence.

Alto Adige boasts Europe’s highest vineyards, which sit at 1,100 meters. A unique clutch of grapes thrives in this sunny, high-elevation region, where cool-climate varieties have found a happy home. Growing grapes at such an altitude helps to lock in the acidity and freshness, leading to lighter-bodied, ruby-hued reds made from the Pinot Nero (aka, Pinot Noir) and Schiava grapes, offering notes of cherry, wild strawberry, raspberry and violet.

Pinot Grigio reigns supreme on the white front, and Chardonnay is widely used in producing traditional-method sparkling wine from Trento DOC. International grapes are also found in this German-speaking region, which benefits from less stringent DOC regulations than the rest of Italy.

Shop now for Italian reds, whites, rosés and sparkling wines.

Stephen, Senior Personal Wine Advisor

After 30+ years working in Michelin-starred restaurants with famous chefs in Manhattan, I found that I really do love wine—so for the last 10 years, I’ve worked here, and every day is an adventure!

WSET – Level 2 Wines & Spirits Certified
Certified Restaurant Sommelier for 20+ years, achieving two James Beard awards

Brunello • Amarone • Barolo • Fine Rioja • Top-End Bordeaux

stephen@laithwaites.com | (203) 523-2162

Offer Code: