Italy

Discover the wines from Italy

Italy can be proud of its 4,000 years of winemaking. It is currently the first country on the globe to produce and export so much wine (55 millions of hectoliters were made in 2018). Italians actually make 1/4 of all the wine in the world, and there are 350 grape varieties in the country. Compare that to France, which has around 200 of them. There are nearly two dozen wine regions in Italy, but three of them produce more than half of all the bottles. These are: Tuscany (in the Center), Piedmont (Northwest) and Veneto (Northeast).

Italian wine categories are close to the ones found in Burgundy or Bordeaux: "Vino da tavola" (wines that have no specific appellations), "Indicazione geografica tipica" (country wines), "Denominazione di origine controllata" (the Italian version of the French "Appellations d'Origine Contrôlée") and "Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita" (an even more rigorous AOC). Controlled appellations have started popping up in Italy, as well as organic wines. As a matter of fact, the Italian government offers many grants to winemakers who decide to switch to more organic methods (Italy has 30 000 hectares of organic vineyards, six times more than France).

Check out the Pleasure Wine selection of fine Italian wines.