About Italian Wines

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The five regions of north-central and northwestern Italy cover much of the great arc of the Alps and Apennines that walls in the Po as it flows east through its broad valley to the Adriatic. The types of wine, like the topography, soil and climate, vary to extremes in these regions, which are grouped rather loosely as neighbors but, in true Italian style, maintain their own proud identities.

This most affluent part of Italy comprises the "industrial triangle" between Milan, Turin and the Mediterranean port of Genoa and the agriculturally fluent flatlands of the Po and its tributaries. Since property is valuable and mountains take up a major share of space, vineyards are confined and wine is a commodity that must be either financially or spiritually rewarding. Yet between the cool terraces of the Alps and the often torrid fields of the Po basin, contrasts abound. Along with some of Italy's most revered bottled can be found some of its most frivolous. But whether the label says Barolo or Lambrusco, the winemaker no doubt takes his work seriously.

Between them, the five regions produce about 20 percent of Italy's total wine but account for more than a quarter of the DOC. Emilia-Romagna contributes heavily with the fourth largest output among regions after Veneto, Sicily and Apulia. Piedmont stands tall in the quality field with the most DOC and DOCG zones of any region, even though it ranks only seventh in over all production.

Still, Piedmont dwarfs its neighbors of Valle d'Aosta and Liguria, which, by Italian standards at least, are mere dabblers in wine. Valle d'Aosta, the smallest region, produces by far the least volume of wine from its rocky slopes. Its DOC output is surpassed by some single wineries in other regions. Liguria, with little space for vines between the mountains and the Mediterranean, is second from the last in production, offering wines that are rarely more than esoteric.

Despite the proximity of France, whose vines have been warmly welcomed elsewhere in Italy, growers in Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta and Liguria prefer their own vines and tend to make wine in their own style. Piedmont's host of worthy natives includes Barbera, Dolcetto, Grignolino, Freisa, Cortese, Arneis, Brachetto, the Canelli clone of Moscato (for Asti Spumante) and the noblest of them all in Nebbiolo (source of Barolo, Barbaresco and Gattinara).

The vines of Valle d'Aosta often have French names, Petit Rouge, Gros Vien, Blanc de Valdigne, for instance, due to the Savoyard history of the region. Liguria favors the local Rossese, Pigato and Vermentino, while working with its own version of Dolcetto, known as Ormeasco.

Lombardy, the most populous region, ranks only twelfth in wine production, but it does boast a major concentration of Nebbiolo vines for the DOC reds of the mountainous Valtellina and spreads of Chardonnay and Pinot vines for sparkling wines of Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese.

Emilia-Romagna had been a leading exporter of wines with shipments to America of sweet and bubbly Lambrusco, whose vines spill over the fertile plains of Emilia. But lately growers have been concentrating on distinctive wines from the hills. Best known are the Albana and Sangiovese of Romagna, but gaining notice are Barbera, Cabernet, Chardonnay and Sauvignon from the Apennine foothills of Emilia.

Piedmont Wines

An overwhelming majority of Piedmont's wines derives from native vines. Besides the noble Nebbiolo, source of Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara and Ghemme, which are all DOCG, Barbera ranks as the most popular vine for reds, followed by Dolcetto, which is enjoyed for its mellow, round flavors. Brachetto makes sweet, fragrant bubbly red that is DOCG as Brachetto d'Acqui. Freisa and Grignolino lead a host of local varieties in rounding out the honor roll of reds. Still, among classified wines, whites represent about a third of the volume. First comes Asti, whose DOCG applies to both sparkling Spumante and the softly bubbly Moscato d'Asti. With an average annual output of nearly 60 million liters, the Asti appellation ranks second in volume to Chianti among Italy's classified wines. An established star is Gavi, a dry white made from the native Cortese grape and a recent addition to the DOCG list.

Wines of Liguria

The legend among Liguria's wines is Cinque Terre, a white made around the "five lands", a series of fishing villages nestled in the cliffs along the coast north of La Spezia. Vines there have been planted since antiquity on scarcely accessible terraces, some close enough to the Ligurian Sea to catch the spray from breaking waves. Most Cinque Terre is dry, though the sweet Sciacchetrà is coveted by those in the know.

Near La Spezia and crossing the border of Tuscany is the DOC zone of Colli di Luni where red and white wines, notably Vermentino, show class. The recent DOCs for Colline di Levanto and Golfo del Tigullio cover most of the other vineyards along the Riviera Levante, the coast to the southeast of Genoa, though some wines are still scarcely known beyond their localities.

Most of Liguria's limited commercial wine production is concentrated along the Ponente coast to the southwest. The first wine to be classified was Rossese di Dolceacqua, whose soft fruit and full flavor make it an uncommonly attractive red. The extensive Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC zone covers the other classic wines of the area: the white Pigato and Vermentino and the red Ormeasco (a local Dolcetto) and Rossese.

Within the DOC zone are areas with special subdenominations for certain wines: Albenga and Finale for Pigato, Rossese and Vermentino and Riviera dei Fiori for all types. Like Vermentino, Pigato is a white of undeniable class whose prospects seem limited only by lack of vineyard space. Most other wines of Liguria are curiosities, local whites and reds that are usually at their best young and close to home. Such rarities as Buzzeto and Granaccia, Coronata and Lumassina are uniquely and proudly Ligurian.

Tuscany - Wines

Much of the progress has come with classical reds based on the native Sangiovese vine, Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Carmignano, all DOCG. But growing success with other reds (especially the stylish non-DOC wines known as "Super Tuscans") has been augmented by new styles of whites to enhance the region's reputation.

Chianti, still the dominant force in Tuscan viniculture, has long rated as the most Italian of wines. This is partly because it is the most voluminous and widely sold classified wine, but also because it has a personality that cannot be pinned down. Its multifarious nature is quintessentially Italian.

Umbria - Wines

Umbria has long been renowned for white wine, thanks mainly to the historical prominence of Orvieto. But evidence is now irrefutable that the scenic hills of the "green heart of Italy" have an aptitude for a multitude of varieties, white and red, native and foreign. The region's two DOCG wines, Montefalco Sagrantino and Torgiano Rosso Riserva, are red.

Orvieto was once the most celebrated of Italian whites as a semisweet or abboccato wine, praised by the popes, princes and painters who sojourned in the hill town north of Rome with its splendid Cathedral and sweeping views over the Umbrian landscape. But as tastes changed Orvieto was modified from a soft, golden wine into a pale, pure, crisp creature of modern enology.

Sicily - Wines

Contrasts are not the least of those things in which Sicily abounds. So perhaps it is not surprising that this ancient island boasts one of Italy's most progressive wine industries or that a region noted chiefly in the past for strong and often sweet amber Marsala and Moscato has switched the emphasis toward lighter, fruitier winesÒmainly white but also red. Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, has more vineyards than any other Italian region. Yet, with the emphasis shifting from quantity to quality, wine production has diminished recently to slightly less than that of Veneto.

A major share of the DOC is represented by Marsala, a wine originated by English merchant traders two centuries ago. Marsala remains Sicily's proudest wine despite the not so distant era of degradation when it was used mainly for cooking or flavored with various syrups and sweeteners. Recently it has enjoyed a comeback among connoisseurs, who favor the dry Marsala Vergine and Superiore Riserva with the warmly complex flavors that rank them with the finest fortified wines of Europe.

Apulia - Wines

Apulia, the heel of the Italian boot, is a long, relatively level region with a prolific production of wine. In the past, the region often surpassed Sicily and Veneto in output, though Apulia's former title of "Europe's wine cellar" no longer carries much weight.

As traditional markets for strong blending wines have diminished, Apulia's producers have increasingly put the accent on premium quality. Some have come forth with good to excellent wines: dry, balanced reds, whites and ros˜s, as well as sweet wines from a great range of grape varieties, both native and foreign.