Wines of Italy

Italian winemaking

Italy is a long and narrow peninsula, resembling the shape of boots. The island of Sardinia, like a bunch of grapes, is located in front of the nose of this boot, and above its tip is the island of Sicily. Each of the 20 regions is more or less involved in winemaking. The basis of the country's geography - the mountain chain stretching from the Alps to the south and east to the subtropics - offers such a wide range of cultivation of vines that nature has not presented to any other country. For 2.5 centuries, while France created a huge structure and gained a reputation as the flagship of winemaking, Italy did nothing of the kind. Wine, like fidelity, remained a very local matter, even family. And until the XX century. no attempt has been made to standardize winemaking. But since the second half of the twentieth century, the situation has changed. In connection with the introduction of official regulations, the quality went to another level, and it became easier for the buyer to understand the variety of wines that the Italian terroir gives. Today, Italy for the number of wines that it produces, for several years now goes side by side with France. And some wines, if not superior to French, then at least can be very strong competition.

Italian Wine Classification

1. Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) - state-controlled name guaranteed by the state (Denominational di Origin of the Controller e Garantit). Guaranteed control of origin establishes very strict rules that must be followed by wine producers. Wines must be tested before bottling, and each bottle must be marked with a special guarantee stamp and numbered.

The distinction of the DOCG category bottle from other categories is the presence of an additional licensed brand on the bottle neck: a light green ribbon on white wine, a pink one on red and an orange one on sparkling wine.

2. Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) - controlled name by origin. Wines of this category are made from approved grape varieties, which are grown in officially recognized vineyards located in geographically defined wine-growing regions. Compliance with these standards is monitored by a special tasting commission.

3.Vini tipici (indicazione geografica tipica) - typical wines, local wines. The label should indicate the harvest, the name of the area, the color or variety of grapes and the type of wine, for example, fritzzante. The authenticity and type of wine is not verified, but the category is based on the reputation of the manufacturer.

4.Vini di tavola - table wines. For wines of this category, the region of origin of grapes and a clear varietal composition are not determined.

Wine regions of Italy:

Northern regions:

1) Piedmont

2) Liguria

3) Valle d Aosta,

4) Lombardy

5) Emilia-Romagna,

6) Veneto,

7) Trentino-Alto Adige,

8) Friuli-Fenecia-Julia,

Central regions of Italy:

9) Tuscany

10) Umbria

11) Marche,

12) Lazio

13) Abruzzo,

Southern regions of Italy:

14) Campaign

15) Apulia

16) Calabria

17) Molise,

18) Basilicata

19) Sardinia

20) Sicily.

• "VIOLANTO" LAMBRUSKO DELL EMILIA