Italy is a powerhouse when it comes to the production of wine.
The country is the first in the world when it comes to the production of wine and offers an enviable variety of grapes and wines that reflect the diversity of its terroir, spanning for coastal landscapes to higher altitudes and inland mountainous soil.
The world of Italian wine is complex and overwhelming for the non expert: this is a quick overview and a beginners’ guide to Italys’ wine region to help get you started in our Italian wine journey.
Italian wine zones and regions at a glance
Vineyards can be found all over Italy and an easy way to get started with different localities and locations is thinking of the country as divided into 4 wine zone, each comprising of some of the 20 administrative regions that make up Italy.
The North West – with the administrative regions of Liguria, Lombardy, Valle D’Aosta and Emilia
The North East – Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia
The Center – Romagna, Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Molise, Abruzzo
The South and the Islands– Puglia ,Campania, Calabria, Sicily, Sardinia
The North West
The North West of Italy is one of the most important wine zones in the whole of the Italian peninsula and is responsible for the success of classic wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco.
It is an area characterized by the presence of the high Alps mountain range but also by the sea, which kisses the shores of Liguria. The most peculiar geographical characteristics of this area is a series of steep, narrow hills that stretch northbound from the Ligurian coastline into Piedmont: Le Langhe.
Blessed with south-facing slopes and a limestone-rich soil, le Langhe is home to a peculiar type of grape, Nebbiolo, that makes some of the most famous wines in the world, Barolo and Barbaresco, both originally from here.
Piedmont is also famous for wines such as the full bodied Barbera, the sweet sparkling Asti and the still white wine Gavi.
The North West of Italy is also the home of the wines from Franciacorta, in Lombardy, and famous mostly for its