Wines Around the World

Italy

In an earlier manifestation as the Holy Roman Empire, the Italians took wine making to the farthest corners of the Empire. When the soldiers were out on the edge of Gaul, they needed their wine after a long day of conquering. This is why winemaking, vines, and casks were taken throughout Europe, and we will see, this is also the reason for wine's spread into the Americas, Australia, and South Africa.
To this day, Italian wine is a tough nut to crack. Like France, the Italian government has a standards system in place and every bottle you buy will have a designation on it.
They are:

DOCG: (denominazione di origine controlla e garantita) is the highest status conferred on Italian wines.

DOC: (denominazione de origine controlla) is the second highest standard.

VdT: is a general category for wines that are not of the DOCG or DOC standard. VdT stands for vin da tavola, or table wine.

This system recognizes traditionally outstanding wines and the label guarantees that it is from a certain area, uses certain grape varieties, has a minimum alcohol content, and has met aging requirements. The standards vary from wine to wine, for example, a Chianti must come from Tuscany, while a Barolo must come from the Piedmont region.

There aren't many Italian wines that are well known outside of Italy's borders, and that is probably because many are never even exported. Some great wine blends from Tuscany are not well known yet because they do not garner the DOCG/DOC rating. In many cases, these are phenomenal wines called Super-Tuscans that rival well known French and California blends.

Italy is known for creating wonderful food-friendly wines, the most widely recognized of which being Chianti. This name refers to a growing region nestled in the hills of Tuscany. Primarily made from the Sangiovese grape, Chianti got a bad rap in the seventies due to a proliferation of cheesy basket-bottomed bottles that hung from the rafters of many an Italian-American restaurant. Not only in bad taste, this wine was of bad quality and many people got a bitter, chalky first impression of Italian wine through this. However, Chianti is a good thing when produced well and treated well. It will cost about $12 for decent Chianti, $20 for a really good one- called Chianti Classico Riserva. Your contribution to a good Chianti experience lies in allowing it to breathe, and pairing it with food. It should breathe for at least a couple of hours, if not for a day. Try opening a bottle in the morning and having it with spaghetti and meat sauce in the evening. Unless you like really heavy wine, don't try to enjoy this wine on its own. At least have some cheese or bread with you. There are two types of Chianti you will find at your local wine shop. Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva. The latter has aged for three extra years in the care of its winemaker, and has a slightly higher alcohol content at 12.5%. Chianti Classico has only 12%. This is an age-worthy wine that can come in quite handy for the one-glass-a-day health kick. Just be sure to have it with dinner.

While Chianti is the one of the better-known wines from Italy, wine enthusiasts have been enjoying the Barolo and Barbaresco wines from the Piedmont region. North of Tuscany, the red grape of choice is the Nebbiolo. Barbaresco and Barolo are higher-dollar wines that can age for fifteen years and are much better for it. Restaurants are wise to the benefits of aging and their price tag shows it. I saw a 1996 Barbaresco going for $120 a bottle, but when you're buying from your friendly wine retailer, your cost for a current release should be around $20-30. This wine is also food-friendly, a little more fruity that Chianti but equally complex.

By and large, Italy is better at producing red wine than white, owing to its climate. Many of the grapes grown there are not grown in California, and thus completely foreign to the American market. Most buy Italian wine on the trust that Italians know what they're doing, and that trust is well placed. It is just important to remember that the Italians (like the French) rarely drink wine without food and rarely eat food without wine. When considering buying this wine- plan it with a meal.

Italy also makes a charming sparkling wine called Asti. It is much sweeter than French traditional champagne, so if this is your style and dry leaves your bubbly flat, try an Italian sparkling.

Italian red wines of note:
Valpolicella
Amarone
Barbera d'Asti
Brunello di Montalcino
Piave Merlot
Morellino di Scansano
Taurasi
Salice Salentino

Italian white wines of note:
Soave
Gavi
Orvieto
Greco di Tufo