Italian Wines

An Introduction to Italian wines

Italy is one of the worlds largest producers of wine.  There are vineyards in almost every region of Italy. You cannot travel through a country side without seeing vines. Italy has a long history of viticulture that dates back to the Phoenicians. The Greeks and Romans continued the traditions and planted grapes all over the boot. Italy plants over 500 different varieties of grapes, so many that no one can count them all. Because there are  so many regions and different grapes, Italy can be a bit overwhelming.  This seminar was intended for our Prime Cru wine club members who might have a limited knowledge of Italian wines.

Italian wines can be found on all wine lists. However, when looking through a list the names can get confusing. Is that a grape, a region a wine’s name? What seems confusing at first is actually fairly easy once you begin to understand wine laws of Italy. The Italians have made it easy for the consumer to know what they are getting. Although I focus a lot on history of Italy, I will also help guide you through understanding the wine labels.

I tried to cover the different regions by breaking it up between North, Central and South.  We are just touching the tip of iceberg, however, I believe I covered the most essential areas.  As always, I find history and politics to be so influential in the wine production, so of course I covered just a bit.  I hope that this seminar is informative and gives you a quick understanding of Italian wines.