Major Italian Wines
- Amarone: Lusty, complete bodied wine from partially dried out Corvina grapes, in the Veneto area. Dry and strong wine, but it’s ripe, focused fruitiness suggests sweet taste. Demands abundant, tasty foods or savory cheeses.
- Barbaresco: Similar to Barolo, from the very same grape in a neighboring location, however normally a tad tighter in body and also slightly much more approachable. Drinks best at 8 to 15 years of age, relying on the producer.
- Barbera: Varietal wine generated mostly in the Piedmont region. Dry, light- or medium-bodied, with extreme berry taste, mouth-watering acidity, as well as little tannin. Particularly flexible with food. Many of the very best wines are from the Alba or Asti zones.
- Barolo: Dry, full-bodied, magisterial wine. Has complicated fragrances and tastes of strawberries, tar, herbs, and also earth, in addition to a company, tannic framework. Beverages most effectively at 10 to 20 years, depending on the manufacturer.
- Brunello di Montalcino: Potent, extreme, concentrated wine. Dry as well as fairly tannic, it drinks ideal when it’s at the very least 15 years old.
- Chianti: Extremely dry, medium-bodied, moderately tannic wine with lovely tart-cherry flavor, primarily from Sangiovese grapes expanded in the Chianti area of Tuscany. “Chianti Classico” is commonly the most effective.
- Lambrusco: Many commonly a pleasant, sparkling wine with tasty, grapey tastes. Dry as well as sparkling designs likewise already existing.
- Montepulciano d’Abruzzo: Typically medium-bodied and also flavorful with red fruits as well as a slightly vegetal note. Lighter examples are smooth and also simple to consume; the very best wines are concentrated as well as denser in texture.
- Salice Salentino: Dry, potent. Generally have somewhat extreme aromas and also tastes of ripe, plummy, baked fruit, as well as rich, dense texture. Suitable with sturdy foods.
- Valpolicella: Medium-bodied wine. Dry, healthy, and just reasonably tannic, with more or less intense cherry aromas and also tastes. Some variations, such as single-vineyard wines are especially excellent.
- Vino Nobile di Montepulciano: Medium-bodied, completely dry, and slim, with red cherry taste, just like Chianti but slightly fuller.
Major Italian White Wines
- Asti: Champagne, delightfully sweet, reduced in alcoholic beverages, with obvious fruity and flower flavors. Usually non-vintage, however freshness and also youth are necessary to its top quality.
- Frascati: Dry or slightly off-dry, light-bodied, as well as un-oaked with crisp acidity as well as subdued taste.
- Gavi: Dry, medium-bodied wine. Commonly crisp as well as un-oaked (often somewhat oaky) with delicate notes of honey, apples, and also minerals.
- Orvieto: A usually medium-bodied wine. Dry, crisp, with flavors of pear and also apple as well as a pleasantly harsh surface.
- Pinot Grigio: Generally light-bodied, completely dry, and also crisp, with controlled fragrances as well as tastes and no oakiness. Made from Pinot Gris grapes, usually in Northeastern Italy. Bottle of wines from Collio or Alto-Adige DOCs are typically the best.
- Soave: Generally dry, crisp, un-oaked, and light- or medium-bodied, with tastes of pear, apple, or peach.
- Verdicchio: Dry, medium-bodied, crisp white with minerally taste and a sea-air quality.