WINE

Learn about Italian Wines!

This page is an essential guide to Italian Wines and collects all the articles about wines, appellations, and grape varieties.
Italian Wines are classified into 526 Denominations, spread in 20 regions: 75 DOCGs, 333 DOCs, and 118 IGPs. Everybody has heard of Barolo, Brunello, Chianti, and Amarone. If you are an intermediate taster, you may know about Cortese, Vermentino, Aglianico, maybe Orvieto, and Verdicchio.

But who knows about Vitoska, Vespolina, Biancolella, and Tintilia? You will, if you want, by reading this guide.

Facts and figures

— The Italian wine scene is composed of about 310,000 farms, an average of 2 hectares cultivated per farm, and just over 45,000 wine-making companies

— AGEA (Agency for Agriculture Subsidy) data: in 2015, 76% of the wineries produced less than 100 hectoliters of wine per year, 17% between 101 and 1,000 hectoliters, 5% between 1,001 and 10,000 hectoliters, and 1% between 10,001 and 100,000 hectoliters

— This confirms the tendency towards fragmentation and the prevalence of small and medium-sized entities

— The vast majority comes from the larger companies: in 2015, 77.5% was produced by companies that vinified more than 10,001 hectoliters per year

— Three fundamental categories:  Family-run wineries, widespread in the areas with the greatest winemaking traditions; Cooperatives, that cover 60% of wine production in Italy; Large estates and industries, historic Tuscan, Venetian, and Piedmontese wine families, grown considerably through acquisitions and mergers

The Essential Guide to Italian Wines

You will see the most recent articles on the top of the page. However, you can find the topic that you would like to learn about by:

–> using the search tool

–> using the tags: they are by region, by type, and by grape variety

  • WINE

    Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC

    July 7, 2020 - By 

    Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC: This red appellation is located in the Langhe, close to the town of Alba. The wine is 100% Nebbiolo and it has also 2 sparkling versions: one red and one rose’. The sparkling wines can be produced with the Martinotti Method or with the Metodo Classico. We are…

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    Monferrato DOC

    July 7, 2020 - By 

    Monferrato DOC: Monferrato is a very important appellation and it takes the name of the whole area. For that reason, it is pretty big and it includes white and red wines. The white varietals are Arneis, Chardonnay, Favorita, Riesling, Nascetta, Rossese Bianco, Sauvignon. The red vatietals are Barbera, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Freisa,…

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    Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco DOC

    July 7, 2020 - By 

    Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco DOC: This red appellation is located in the Asti area. It is made with Malvasia di Schierano o Malvasia Lunga Nera (min 85% to 100%) and Freisa (max. 15%). We are working on this Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco DOC appellation description.Please come back soon.Send us…

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    Loazzolo DOC

    July 6, 2020 - By 

    Loazzolo DOC: This is an appellation only for white wines. It is made with 100% Moscato Bianco and it is a still wine. We are working on this Loazzolo DOC appellation description.Please come back soon.Send us an e-mail if you are looking for more info atcheers@drinkitalian.com In the meantime, if you…

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    Lessona DOC

    July 6, 2020 - By 

    Lessona DOC: This red wine is produced in the Northern part of Piedmont in the Novara province. It is made with Nebbiolo (min 85%) which is called Spanna in that area.  We are working on this Lessona DOC appellation description.Please come back soon.Send us an e-mail if you are looking for…

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    Langhe DOC

    July 6, 2020 - By 

    Langhe DOC: Langhe is a very important appellation and it takes the name of the whole area. For that reason, it is pretty big and it includes white and red wines. The white varietals are Arneis, Chardonnay, Favorita, Riesling, Nascetta, Rossese Bianco, Sauvignon. The red vatietals are Barbera, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Freisa,…

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    Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese DOC

    July 6, 2020 - By 

    Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese DOC: This red wine is from the Monferrato Area and it is made with min 90% Grignolino and max 10% Freisa. We are working on this Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese DOC appellation description.Please come back soon.Send us an e-mail if you are looking for more info atcheers@drinkitalian.com…

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    Grignolino d’Asti DOC

    July 6, 2020 - By 

    Grignolino d’Asti DOC: This red wine is from the Asti Area and it is made with min 90% Grignolino and max 10% Freisa. We are working on this Grignolino d’Asti DOC appellation description.Please come back soon.Send us an e-mail if you are looking for more info atcheers@drinkitalian.com In the meantime, if…

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    Ghemme DOCG

    July 6, 2020 - By 

    Ghemme DOCG: This red wine is produced in the Northern part of Piedmont in the Novara province. It is made with Nebbiolo (min 85%) which is called Spanna in that area. It can also include Vespolina and/or Uva Rara (max 15%) and other autorized red varieties. We are working on this…