I will tell you a few facts about Italian Wine.

In Italian history there are two separate groups that started the production of wine. The Greeks applied their knowledge in Sicily and steadily moved south up the toe of the boot and the Etruscans who started growing their vines in Rome. The Romans eliminated the Etruscans and eventually took up the task of producing wine. Today Italy is one of the largest, if not the largest wine producers in the world. The grading system for Italian wine has three categories that you will find on the label.
Vino da Tavola - Table wine.
This category is for wine are general in there location, grape variety, viticulture, and vinification. Viticulture is the method of growing the vine and vinification is the method of turning grapes into wine. Some of Italy's most delightful wine comes from this category.
DOC
This category has many restrictions to achieve a quality wine. Some of the restrictions are the area of production based on the soil conditions, grape variety, planting distances, pruning, and general vine care. The vineyard will also have a maximum yield per hectare, standards for the vinification methods, and a certain level of alcohol in the wine must be achieve.
DOCG
This is a very small category of wines that follow an even stricter set of guidelines than DOC. These wines will have a government seal on the bottle.
The main grape varieties are Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Barbera, Lambrusco, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon in the red category. For the white the most widely planted are Verdicchio, Treddiano, Malvasia, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay.
I suggest trying all of the native grape varieties. You can start with a Barolo made from Nebbiolo. This is a full-bodied wine, therefor aging will soften the tannins and acids. You should try a bottle that has been aged for a least five years.

Go To Page: 1

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic