Vines grow in every one of Italy's twenty regions, from Alpine valleys in sight of glaciers to islands closer to Africa than to Milan. The grapes, food and names on the labels vary across the country. National rules give those local wines a shared system of origin and production requirements.
Northern valleys, central hills and southern vineyards
Geography
In the north, Nebbiolo is the grape behind Piemonte's Barolo, while Veneto takes you from Glera for Prosecco to the dried-grape richness of Amarone. Alto Adige and Friuli offer other northern white wines. Farther south, Sangiovese leads Chianti and several of Toscana's inland reds.
Southern Italy includes inland hills and mountains as well as warm coastal vineyards. Aglianico grows around Avellino in Campania's Irpinia district, well inland from Naples. Nero d'Avola on Sicily and Cannonau on Sardegna offer other red-wine starting points. Look at the particular area and grape when choosing a bottle: the southern regions contain many different growing conditions.
Read the origin, then the grape and ageing terms
Read the label
An Italian place name can tell you which grapes to expect. Barolo is made from Nebbiolo; Chianti is led by Sangiovese. The letters DOC mean controlled designation of origin, while DOCG means controlled and guaranteed designation of origin. Both identify wines made under a named origin's production rules, covering matters such as grapes and permitted methods. Both systems include laboratory analysis and tasting checks against those rules.
Where Classico is a regulated term, it identifies the historic growing area. Riserva indicates ageing requirements set for that wine. Read these words alongside the full wine name: the particular area's rules tell you what they require.
Choose a region through a wine you want to try
Where to begin
For a white wine, begin with Soave in Veneto, then use the same region's guide to compare young Valpolicella with Ripasso and Amarone when you want a red. Piemonte introduces Nebbiolo through Barolo, while Toscana explains Sangiovese through Chianti.
To continue south, explore Campania through Aglianico or Sicily through Nero d'Avola. Choose one region and read about the grape and the way the wine is made before moving on to another. The regional guides below give you places to follow from that first bottle.
The regions of Italy
Choose a region to read about its wines and explore the smaller growing areas within it.
- 01Abruzzo13 producersAbruzzo is a region in Italy between the mountains and the Adriatic Sea. It is best known for Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a red wine made from the Montepulciano grape. The same grape makes the deep-coloured rosé Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo. Trebbiano and Pecorino are important white grapes.
- 02Apulia15 producersApulia is an Italian region with vineyards around Castel del Monte, the Murgia plateau, Taranto and Salento. Primitivo and Negroamaro are two of its native red grapes, used for rich reds and fruity rosés. In Salento, vineyards lie between the Ionian and Adriatic Seas.
- 03Basilicata4 producersIn Italy's Basilicata region, vineyards climb the slopes of the extinct Vulture volcano, where the red grape Aglianico grows. In the north, near Puglia and Campania, vineyards rise from roughly 200 to 600 metres. Wines labelled Aglianico del Vulture are usually dry and savoury, with acidity and drying tannin that can support ageing.
- 04CalabriaNo producers listed yetCalabria is an Italian wine region whose wines include the reds of Savuto and the sweet white Greco di Bianco. The latter is a passito, made from dried grapes, with orange-blossom aromas. Wines bearing the names Cirò, Melissa or Scavigna can be white, red or rosé.
- 05Campania12 producersCampania is an Italian region that includes the vineyards of Irpinia, Sannio, Costa d'Amalfi and Cilento. Its white grapes include Fiano, Greco and Falanghina; Aglianico makes reds ranging from medium-bodied, red-fruited wines to firmer styles with black fruit, high acidity and drying tannin. Taurasi is one of its Aglianico wines.
- 06Emilia-Romagna24 producersIn the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, vineyards stretch from Colli Piacentini to the sandy coast at Bosco Eliceo. Ortrugo is a local white grape, made into light, dry still and sparkling wines. Romagna Sangiovese is a red wine, while the coastal wines can have salty, savoury flavours.
- 07Friuli-Venezia Giulia16 producersAt Italy's far northeastern edge, the wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia borders Austria and Slovenia. Its vineyards span hills, plains, Adriatic shores and rocky plateaus. White wines include Ribolla Gialla and Pinot Grigio from Friuli Grave, while the windswept Carso grows Vitovska, Malvasia Istriana and the red grape Terrano.
- 08Lazio4 producersLazio is an Italian region of volcanic hills, lakes, mountains and coast. The Castelli Romani make several white-wine styles, while the red grape Cesanese grows in the Monti Ernici hills. Around Circeo, white wines can have citrus and apple aromas, and Merlot is used for reds and rosés.
- 09Liguria1 producerAlong the Italian coast, Liguria's vineyards run from Savona and Imperia in the west, through Genova, to Spezia in the east. Cinque Terre makes dry white wines and sweet Sciacchetrà from dried grapes. Further west, local grapes include Pigato, Vermentino and the red variety Rossese.
- 10Lombardia28 producersLombardia is an Italian region whose vineyards include Oltrepò Pavese south of the Po, Franciacorta near Lake Iseo and the rocky slopes of Valtellina. Valtellina makes red wines from Nebbiolo, known locally as Chiavennasca. Lugana, south of Lake Garda, makes white wines from the Turbiana grape.
- 11Marche16 producersFrom Italy's Adriatic coast, vineyards extend inland through the Marche region. Verdicchio is the white grape behind wines from Castelli di Jesi and Matelica; Montepulciano makes the red Rosso Conero. Further north, Bianchello del Metauro is a white wine named for its grape and the river basin where it grows.
- 12Molise1 producerMolise is a mountainous region in southeastern Italy, between Abruzzo and Puglia. A short Adriatic coast gives way to cooler inland vineyards in the Apennines. Its red wines include peppery Tintilia del Molise, named for the Tintilia grape, and Biferno Rosso, which is dry with moderately drying tannin.
- 13Other producers52 producersThese producers are in Italy, with no more specific region shown.
- 14Piemonte210 producersPiemonte is a region in northwestern Italy, at the foot of the Alps. It is best known for Barolo and Barbaresco, two red wines made from the Nebbiolo grape. The region also makes Barbera and Dolcetto reds, dry whites such as Gavi and Roero Arneis, and gently sweet, lightly sparkling Moscato d'Asti.
- 15Sardegna3 producersOn the Italian island of Sardegna, different areas grow different grapes: red Cannonau in Ogliastra and Barbagia, white Vermentino in the north, Vernaccia around Oristano and red Carignano in southwestern Sulcis. In central Mandrolisai, reds and rosés blend Bovale sardo, Cannonau and Monica.
- 16Sicily40 producersSicily is an Italian island with vineyards ranging from dry areas with little rain to Etna's wetter volcanic slopes. Catarratto, a white variety, and the red Nero d'Avola are its most planted grapes. Etna grows Nerello Mascalese for reds and Carricante for whites, while Pantelleria makes sweet wine from sun-dried Zibibbo grapes.
- 17Toscana132 producersToscana is a region in Italy known for red wines such as Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, all made mainly or entirely from the Sangiovese grape. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot also grow along the western coast. Vernaccia di San Gimignano is a dry white wine made from Vernaccia.
- 18Trentino-Alto Adige26 producersIn northern Italy, the Trentino-Alto Adige region brings together Alto Adige/Südtirol and Trentino. Its mountain vineyards grow red grapes such as Lagrein and Teroldego alongside white varieties including Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Kerner. Trentino also makes Trentodoc sparkling wine, with a second fermentation in the bottle, and sweet Vino Santo from dried Nosiola grapes.
- 19Umbria14 producersUmbria is a landlocked wine region in central Italy. Around Montefalco, the red grape Sagrantino makes wines with pronounced acidity and drying tannin. Grechetto is a white grape grown around Todi and Lake Trasimeno, while Orvieto is the name of a white-wine appellation spanning Terni and Viterbo.
- 20Valle d'Aosta3 producersBelow Mont Blanc, vineyards follow the Italian valley of Valle d'Aosta from Donnas to Morgex. Around Morgex and La Salle, the white grape Prié Blanc grows at 900 to 1,300 metres. Other local grapes include Petit Rouge for reds and Petite Arvine for crisp whites.
- 21Veneto117 producersVeneto is a region in northeastern Italy stretching from Lake Garda towards the Adriatic. Its reds range from light Bardolino and young Valpolicella to full-bodied Amarone. Soave is a dry white made mainly from Garganega. Farther east, the Glera grape makes Prosecco, whose growing area also extends into neighbouring Friuli Venezia Giulia.