What are the most famous wines from Italy? Discover our list with description and characteristics and of the most famous Italian wines. To learn more about the wines from Italy, also discover our articles on the best Italian red wines,best Italian white wines, best Italian rosé wines and best Italian sparkling wines.
INDEX OF THE MOST FAMOUS WINES FROM ITALY
- Brunello di Montalcino
- Barolo
- Amarone della Valpolicella
- Chianti Classico
- Supertuscan
- Franciacorta
- Etna
- Barbaresco
- Lambrusco
- Montepulciano
- Taurasi
Brunello di Montalcino – Wines from Italy
Region: Tuscany
Brunello di Montalcino is certainly among the most famous and prestigious wine from Italy and is internationally recognized for its elegance, complexity and great aging potential.
Brunello di Montalcino owes its fame to an intuition of Clemente Santi, a pharmacist. Santi was the first to plant the new selected vines of Sangiovese Grosso (today locally called Brunello) on the Il Greppo farm in Montalcino.
Brunello di Montalcino wine can be produced exclusively from 100% Sangiovese grapes in the territory of the municipality of Montalcino, in the province of Siena. The hectares of vineyards dedicated to the Brunello di Montalcino production are about 2000.
The disciplinary for Brunello di Montalcino requires that it must be aged for at least two years in oak containers (of any size) and that it must be marketed no earlier than January 1st of the fifth year following the harvest.
Barolo – Wines from Italy
Region: Piedmont
Barolo is undoubtedly one of the most famous wines from Italy appreciated internationally due to its complexity, elegance and extraordinary aging potential.
Barolo DOCG must be produced exclusively with 100% Nebbiolo grapes in the Piedmontese Langhe in the municipalities of Barolo, La Morra, Monforte, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto, Novello, Grinzane Cavour.
The municipalities of Verduno, Diano d’Alba, Cherasco and Roddi are only partially affected.
The disciplinary provides that Barolo wine can enter the market from 1st January of the fourth year following the harvest (refining at least 18 in wood), or from 1st January of the sixth year following the harvest for the Riserva type (refining at least 18 months in wood ).
The third type of Barolo is Barolo Chinato, an aromatized meditation wine produced starting from Barolo wine, to which alcohol, sugar, spices, herbs and roots are added. Discover the food and Barolo Chinato pairings.
Amarone della Valpolicella – Wines from Italy
Region: Veneto
Amarone della Valpolicella is one of the most famous wines from Italy, recognized internationally for its elegance, complexity and great aging potential.
Amarone della Valpolicella is a DOCG dry passito red wine that can only be produced in Valpolicella, in the province of Verona.
The grape drying technique is adopted in Amarone della Valpolicella with the aim of concentrating colors, aromas and structure, obtaining wines with a unique, complex, multifaceted and extraordinarily elegant character.
Amarone della Valpolicella is produced exclusively from Corvina (45-95%) and / or Corvinone (45% to 95%), Rondinella (5-30%) and other non-aromatic red grape varieties allowed by the specification, including native Oseleta.
The disciplinary states that the grapes left to dry cannot be vinified before 1 December and that the wines produced cannot be put on the market before 1 January of the third year following the harvest. However, many producers often tend to further extend the aging times of their wines before putting them on the market.
Chianti Classico – Wines from Italy
Region: Tuscany
Chianti Classico, distinguished by the iconic black rooster brand, is one of the wines from Italy, one of the best known and most appreciated all over the world.
It is a DOCG wine from Tuscany produced in the heart of Chianti, and has 7,200 hectares of vineyards between the provinces of Florence and Siena. T
he Chianti Classico specification requires that it be produced from Sangiovese grapes (from 80% to 100%), to which traditional varieties such as Canaiolo, Colorino, or international varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are commonly added.
The wine is proposed by the wineries in three simple different types that represent the qualitative ascending pyramid of the companies. In this article you will find the best Chianti Classico, (basic version) the best Chianti Classico Riserva (with prolonged aging) and the best Gran Selezione (flagship of the cellars, produced with the most selected grapes and a minimum of 30 months of Aging).
Supertuscan – Wines from Italy
Region: Tuscany
Among the absolute protagonists among the most famous wines from Italy in the world, Tenuta San Guido could not be missing, symbol of the enological renaissance of Tuscany and of Bolgheri with its famous wine: Sassicaia, which saw its first historic vintage of 1968.
Of great historical importance among the wines from Italys is the Pergole Torte di Montevertine, born in 1977 and created thanks to the contribution of the genius loci of Sangiovese, Giulio Gambelli. A wine that boasts one of the most beautiful labels among Italian wines.
Memorable among the wines from Italy there is Flaccianello di Fontodi and the historic Marquises Antinori, pioneers of the famous Supertuscans: wines with a modern style of French inspiration and embellished with international grape varieties.
These include Tignanello (born in 1970) and Ornellaia (1985), but undoubtedly also the majestic Merlot in purity ‘Masseto’ (1986) by the Marchesi de ‘Frescobaldi, an iconic winery for thirty generations linked to the production of red wine in Tuscany.
There are countless very successful supertuscan wines, find out more in the article dedicated to the wines of Tuscany and the best supertuscan wines.
Franciacorta – Wines from Italy
Region: Lombardy
Franciacorta DOCG is certainly the most internationally successful wines from Italy among sparkling wines.
The modern success is to be attributed to Franco Ziliani’s work with the Guido Berlucchi winery, who bottled the first bottle of the modern Franciacorta wine in 1961.
Franciacorta DOCG is a classic method sparkling wine produced on an area of about 2900 hectares in the province of Brescia in the territory of Franciacorta, in Lombardy.
Franciacorta is produced mainly from Chardonnay and Pinot Nero but also from complementary vines such as the international Pinot Bianco and the native Erbamat. The minimum aging period on the lees is 18 months, which become 30 for the vintage version and 60 for the reserve version.
In addition to the rosé version, Franciacorta is also produced in the Saten version, exclusively Brut, and which provides for a lower pressure which determines a more silky and enveloping effervescence.
Etna – Wines from Italy
Region: Sicily
Among the most famous wines from Italy, the elegant volcanic wines of Etna cannot be missing. The wines of Etna come from a territory on a vineyard area of 700 hectares, located in the territory of the Etna Volcano in the province of Catania, in Sicily. The volcanic soils, the age of the vines and the large temperature variations, which even reach 25/30 degrees between day and night, make these wines unique, with refined aromas and extraordinary flavor.
Etna wines are produced in two main types: Etna Rosso, Etna Bianco and Etna Rosato.
Etna Rosso wine is produced starting from Nerello Mascalese (minimum 80%) and Nerello Mascalese (maximum 20%), while Etna Bianco wine is produced by Carricante (minimum 80%) and Catarratto (maximum 20%.
Barbaresco – Wines from Italy
Region: Piedmont
Barbaresco is one of the best wines from Italy, among the best known and most appreciated all over the world for its character and extraordinary aging potential.
It is a DOCG wine from Piedmont produced in the Langhe, on about 700 hectares of vineyards between the municipalities of Barbaresco, Neive, Treiso.
The disciplinary of Barbaresco provides that it is produced from 100% Nebbiolo grapes and can be marketed only after a period of 3 years after the harvest, of which at least 9 months must be aged in wooden containers. In the case of Barbaresco Riserva, the aging time in the cellar reaches 50 months.
Barbaresco is a garnet red wine with orange reflections; Ethereal, pleasant and intense perfume; Dry, full and delicate, velvety, rightly tannic flavor
Lambrusco – Wines from Italy
Region: Emilia-Romagna
Lambrusco is certainly one of the most famous Italian wines, but also divisive like few others. Some hate it, but many love it, making Lambrusco the most exported Italian wine in the world. Lambrusco exports every year exceed 200 million bottles, mainly to the USA, Mexico, Germany and China.
Lambrusco is vinified in controlled pressure steel tanks called “autoclaves” which allow to contain the carbon dioxide produced by fermentation, making Lambrusco a “sparkling” wine.
The main types of Lambrusco are Lambrusco di Sorbara, characterized by a lighter color and are characterized by aromas of small red fruits and violets and Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, an intense ruby red color with violet reflections and a fruity aroma, with a hint of wild berries.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – Wines from Italy
Region: Abruzzo
Fruity, spicy and intense: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is undoubtedly one of the most famous wines from Italy. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is obtained from Montepulciano grapes (minimum 85%) to which grapes from other non-aromatic black grape varieties can be added.
Montepulciano is a native vine of central Italy that boasts a very long tradition, and together with Sangiovese, it represents the cornerstone vine from which many of the best red wines of central Italy are born.
Among the best Montepulciano d’Abruzzo we can also find the “reserve” type. The latter is subjected to an aging period of not less than two years, of which at least nine months in wooden containers.
Taurasi – Wines from Italy
Region: Campania
Taurasi is one of the best known and most appreciated wines from Italy for its austere elegance and evolutionary potential and refined aromas.
It is a DOCG wine from Campania produced in the province of Avellino. To be exact in the territory of Irpinia, one of the most suitable areas of Italy, where the volcanic soils and the continental climate are an ideal habitat for wines of sensational character.
The disciplinary provides that it is produced starting from the Aglianico grape variety (85 -100%) to which other complementary non-aromatic red grape varieties may be added, up to a maximum of 15%.
Taurasi must undergo an aging period of at least three years from the year of harvest, of which at least one in wooden barrels before being put on the market. The Taurasi Riserva, on the other hand, has an aging of at least four years, of which at least eighteen months in wooden barrels.
What are the most famous wines from Italy?
What are the most famous wines from Italy? Choosing is a difficult undertaking, which in any case inevitably lies within the limits of a subjective opinion, which as such, by definition, is deficient and arbitrary.
We have compiled our wine list of wines from Italy according to our evaluations. However, it remains essential to underline that the best wine of Italy is the one that is able to excite us, also by binding itself to contingent situations and unrepeatable and intimate moments of our life. Therefore, we invite you to discover all the wines from Italy in their uniqueness, so that you can independently find and choose the wine that can be counted for you among your best Italian wines.
