Italy Areas
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Italy Areas
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Piedmont is situated east of Turin and on the same latitude as Valence in the northern Rhone, but at a slightly higher altitude. The star turns are Barolo and Barbaresco, both made from Nebbiolo, but Barbera and Dolcetto are very worthwhile grape varieties too. Personally I`m less convinced by the whites but there are good examples of Arneis and Cortese to be found as well as the world`s most...
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This cover several regions and many different styles of wine, from the plains of Veneto itself, to the rolling hills of Friuli and onward to the alps and their foothills represented by Trentino and Alto Adige, the latter also known as Sud Tirol to its formerly Austrian inhabitants. It only became part of Italy less than a century ago. Wine styles encompass everything you can think of from the...
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One of the few bits of Italy that has had some consistent wealth over the centuries, and so ready for take-off when Italy`s wine industry changed gear after the second world war. Mistakes were made and the one that is taking longest to repair is the clonal selection of Sangiovese, but gradually the high yielding vines are being swapped over for high quality ones. Sangiovese is the life blood of...
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For red wines two varieties dominate, Sangiovese and Montepulciano, which is one of the great confusions of Italian wine. Where in the name of the wine does Montepulciano appear? If it says Montepulciano di something, or just appears in the list of grape names then it is a grape. If it is di Montepulciano, then it`s the place, a fab village in Tuscany. Umbria has Orvieto through Sagrantino, the...
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Let`s start with Sardinia. When it ruled Spain it got Garnacha as part of the deal, though it is called Cannonau on the Island and Vermentino is the local white. Most of the vineyards are towards the south, though there are some on the northern coast too. Sicily`s wines are a complex as its history and the array of grape varieties, both autochthonous and international (French) reflects the inward...
