Vine growing in Italy

The Romans and before them the Etruscans cultivated the Vigne. The Greeks had given to the territory the nickname Œnotria meaning the ground of the wine . The vineyard extends in all the Italian areas from the Venezia to the Sicily.

The Italy is today, with 46,8 million Hectolitre S, including approximately 21% in labels of origin, the second world producer, just behind the France (47,3) (Statistical FAO 2003). It exports approximately 18 million hectolitres annually. Its principal outlets are the European Union (Germany and the United Kingdom) and the North America.

Italian regulation

Since 1200, the republic of Florence divided its territory into “leagues”, identifier, as of this time the zone of the Chianti, dedicated to the vine growing since the time of the Étrusque S.

At the time current, two fundamental regulations governing the wine production in Italy followed one another. It is:

  • the law n° 116 of February 3rd, 1963, which related to the standards as regards denominations of origin of musts and the wines, which was in force until 1992.
  • then the law n° 164, known as law Gloria, entitled “New discipline of the denominations of origin”.

Until the law Gloria it was to better privilege the notoriety and the talent of the producers rather than of trusting too much with names. The high-class wines of Italy were classified into simple table wines because the fields wanted to have right to use French type of vines like the cabernet.

Italy, Member State of the European Union, now applies the European payments, which supplant the national legislation. National names in Italy are:

  • the Denominazioni di Origine Controllata (DOC.) of which the concept was seriously denatured before 1992.
  • the Denominazioni di Origine Controllata E Garantita (DOCG, Dénominations of guaranteed controlled origin) which took the same way that DOC. the first name DOCG were the Brunello di Montalcino (Presidential decree of the Republic of July 1st, 1980).
  • the Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT, Typical Geographical ascription) is an intermediate level between table wines and DOC. In fact often wines of a certain quality but entirely do not respect the schedule of conditions of DOC. (mixture of type of vines nonin conformity, production except zone,…).
  • the VDN (Sweet aperitif wines).
  • the Vini da tavola , table wines.

The Council: It is necessary well to differentiate the wines from before 1992 (even until 2000) and the new wines in conformity with the European regulation.

Various styles

The labels on the Italian wine bottles comprise sometimes a specification on the style. Thus a wine can be labellé like:

  • abboccato : between a medium dry wine and half-soft

  • amabile : between the dry wine and the sweet wine.
  • dolce : sweet wine.
  • frizzante : sparkling wine.
  • novello : indicate a new wine.
  • passito : wine obtained with grape makes dried slightly.
  • riserva : this term is used in theory for wines DOC. or DOCG. It indicates a wine which remained out of barrel longer than a normal wine. the term vecchio is sometimes employed.
  • secco : dry wine.
  • spumante : sparkling wine.
  • superiore : indicate an alcohol gradation higher than a normal wine.

Certain terms can be used together.

Type of vines cultivated in Italy

Red type of vines

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White type of vines

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Italian soils

Wines of the Abruzzi

Wine DOCG Montepulciano d' Abruzzo Hill Teramane.

Wines of Basilicate

Wines of Calabria

Wines of Campania

Wines of Emilie-Romagna

Wines of the Friuli-Venezia-Julienne

Wines of Latium

Wines of Ligurie

Wines of Lombardy

Wines of the Steps

Vins of Weakens

Wines of Ombrie

Wines of Piedmont

Wines DOCG are:
  • Silk under name Silk spumante (white) and Moscato d' Asti (white) produced in the provinces of Silk, Cuneo and Alessandria.
  • Barbaresco (red, exists in normal version and riserva ) produced in the province of Cuneo.
  • Barolo (red, exists in normal version , riserva and chinato ) produced in the province of Cuneo.
  • Brachetto d' Acqui or Acqui (red, exists in normal version and spumante ) produced in the provinces of Asti and Alessandria.
  • Gattinara (red, exists in normal version and riserva ) produced in the province of Vercelli.
  • Gavi O Cortese di Gavi (white, exists in version frizzante , spumante and normal ) produced in the province of Alessandria.
  • Ghemme (red, in normal version E riserva exists) produced in the Province of Novare.
  • Roero (white, exists in version Roero Arneis and Roero Arneis spumante , red exists in normal version and superiore ) produced in the province of Cuneo.

The wines DOC. are:

  • Albugnano produces in province of Silk
  • Alta Langa produces in province of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo
  • Barbera of Alba produced in province of Cuneo
  • Barbera Silk produced in province of Silk
  • Barbera del Monferrato produced in province of Alessandria and Asti
  • Boca produces in province of Novara
  • Bramaterra produces in province of Biella and Vercelli
  • Canavese produces in province of Biella, Torino and Vercelli
  • Carema produces in province of Torino
  • Cisterna d' Asti produces in province of Silk and Cuneo
  • Colli Tortonesi produce in province of Alessandria
  • Collina Torinese produces in province of Torino
  • Colline Novaresi produces in Province of Novare
  • Colline Saluzzesi (red); as well as the wines quasi mono-type of vines Pelaverga and Quagliano produces in province of Cuneo
  • Cortese dell' Alto Monferrato produces in province of Alessandria and Asti
  • Coste della Sesia produces in province of Biella and Vercelli
  • Dolcetto d' Acqui produces in province of Alessandria
  • Dolcetto d' Alba produces in province of Cuneo
  • Dolcetto d' Asti produces in delle province of Silk
  • Dolcetto Langhe Monregalesi produces in province of Cuneo
  • Dolcetto di Diano d' Alba produces in province of Cuneo
  • Dolcetto di Dogliani produces in province of Cuneo
  • Dolcetto d' Ovada produces in province of Alessandria
  • Erbaluce di Caluso produces in province of Biella, Torino and Vercelli
  • Fara produces in province of Novara
  • Freisa d' Asti produces in province of Silk
  • Freisa di Chieri produces in province of Torino
  • Gabiano produces in province of Alessandria
  • Grignolino d' Asti produces in province of Silk
  • Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese produces in province of Alessandria
  • Langhe produces in province of Cuneo
  • Lessona produces in province of Biella
  • Loazzolo produces in province of Silk
  • Malvasia di Casorzo d' Asti produces in province of Alessandria and Asti
  • Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco produces in province of Alessandria and Asti
  • Monferrato produces in province of Alessandria and Asti
  • Nebbiolo d' Alba produces in province of Cuneo
  • Piemonte produces in province of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo
  • Pinerolese produce in province of Cuneo and Torino
  • Rubino di Cantavenna produces in province of Alessandria
  • Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato produces in province of Silk
  • Sizzano product in province of Novara
  • Valsusa produces in province of Torino in the Val of Suse.
  • Verduno Pelaverga produces in province of Cuneo

Wines of Pouilles

Wines of Sardinia

Wines of Sicily

Wines of Tuscany

Wines of Trentin-Haut-Adige

Wines of Valley-in Aoste

Wines of Venezia

External bonds

  • itinerari nel gusto Chart of the wine of Italy
  • Wines of Italy a review of principal Italian names
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