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Italian Wines
Author: Fiona Muller
Article:
When it comes to wine with food, there is one place that always
stands out for producing great quaffable wine that tastes good
with food without overpowering it with overly rich flavours -
Italy.
When you think of Italian wines, you inevitably think of pasta
with rich meat or cheese sauces and little bistros with great
atmosphere and a soupcon of romance.
The Italians are passionate about many things: Food, football,
politics, pasta, family, and wine. Traditionally, most of the
fine wine produced in Italy remains in the country, and this is
still true to this day. Italy is one of the oldest wine
producing countries of the world. The Romans were famous for
their prolific wine making and their love of the drink. Hand in
hand with this passion for wine is the commitment to local
style. This makes Italy one of the best producers of
idiosyncratic individual types of wine.
Italian wine is classified by a special system. It divides the
wines into four different groups, which are in turn divided into
two sections: Vino de Tavola (table wine) and a European Union
category which denotes specific regions that the grapes are
grown in. Italy has 20 wine regions (all 20 regions of Italy
grow their own wine) and uses over 350 different types of grapes
in its many wines.
Red wine is the type of wine that most people associate with
Italy, and perhaps the most famous is chianti. Chianti is
produced from the Sangiovese grape, and it is this grape that
also produces many of the other well-known Italian wines. Other
well-known red wine producing grapes that are cultivated in
Italy include: Nebbiolo, Montepulciano, Negroamoro and Aglianico.
Italian white wine used to be less well known in other countries
until the commercialisation of Pinot Grigio. This wine has
become something of a monster, replacing Chardonnay in bars and
pubs across the UK. Pinot Grigio can be a satisfying and
flavourful wine, but has of late been harvested too early, due
to commercial demand, leading to a host of lack lustre wines.
In addition tot his well-known variety, Italian wine is also
produced from other grapes, including Moscato, Trebbiano and
Garganega. Italy also cultivates non-native grape varieties, and
so produces wine from Chardonnay, Gewztraminer and Riesling
grapes.
Italy is also well-known for producing a sparkling wine known as
prosecco. Prosecco isn limited to white in colour. It comes in
ros?and red as well, and is a good wine for those who like wine
to be light in the alcohol content, as it usually comes in about
11%.
About the author:
Fiona Muller is a qualified journalist and has worked in food
and drink writing for the last few years. For a great selection
of Italian wines, including information on fine wines and tips
for tastings, go to
www.laithwaites.co.uk
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