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taking a similar approach to learning and drinking Italian wines, and that’s what we will do in this chapter. Through tasting, we will learn the “basics” of Italian wines, which are in two categories. The first category includes the classic wine styles from Italy’s two most famous regions—Tuscany and Piedmont. The second category is made up of her widely available, cheap-but-good offerings (Italy is a treasure trove of these). These two groups are all you need to know to choose enjoyable wines in any restaurant or wine shop setting. For fun, I’ll also introduce you, through tasting, to some of Italy’s most interesting and delicious one-of-a-kind wines that I think are too original and delicious to miss. Some of them are so unforgettable that their names will easily stick in your wine consciousness. And if you are completely sedutto by Italian wines (I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that happens), I will give you a surefire buying tip for jumping off into the world of adventure beyond these two basic groups.

Finally, aside from the wine styles, there are two other very exciting things that we’ll begin to explore in this chapter: how food can change the taste of wine, and how aging affects the taste of wine. And don’t forget that all-important lesson for ultimate enjoyment: Don’t think (well, not too much). Drink. Andiamo!

The Label

Italian Wine Names

You may have noticed that Italy’s wines, like her people, are often beautifully dressed. That Italian flair that you see in cars, clothes, and architecture often carries over to wine in beautiful bottles and stylish labels. The labels are lovely to look at, but people often get confused by the content, because there are several different ways Italian wines can be named:

A regional name The equivalent of appellation wines in France, these are named for the village or district where the grapes are grown, for example, Chianti or Soave (SWAH-vay).

A grape name plus a regional name Some examples: Barbera d’Alba (Bar-BEAR-uh DAHL-buh), the Barbera grape from the Alba region in Piedmont; Pinot Grigio del Veneto (VENN-uh-toe), the Pinot Grigio grape from the Veneto district, and so on.

A proprietary (brand) name Basically, a made-up name—Sassicaia (Sass-uh-KYE-uh), a famous wine from Tuscany, and Corvo Rosso and Bianco (red and white) from Sicily are some well-known examples.

The Appellation System

Italy regulates the use of regional wine names (with and without a specified grape) in much the same way France does with its Appellation d’Origine Controlée (AOC) system. Italy’s place-naming system is called Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or controlled denomination of origin—obviously, another great candidate for abbreviation, as DOC. Like the French system, the DOC law seeks to ensure the style authenticity of wines sold under the famous regional names by regulating the same grape-growing and winemaking factors we covered previously—permitted grapes, growing area, maximum vineyard yield, minimum alcohol content, viticultural practices (like pruning and irrigation), and vinification techniques. In this last respect, Italy’s laws go quite a bit farther than France’s, specifying minimum oak-barrel and bottle-aging times for a lot of the wines.

There is also another, even stricter, appellation rank called DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita). Regional wines with the garantita, or guaranteed, status have the strictest yield limitations, longer minimum aging times, and other controls intended to ensure the best quality potential. Many famous DOC wines have applied for an upgrade to DOCG status. Here is a list of DOCG appellations, and the region they come from, to date.

More About the Label

The Italian wine label has a lot of other words that offer clues to the wine style:

Riserva Reserve in English, but unlike American wine labels, the Italian use has a legal meaning. Riserva attached to an appellation (for example, Chianti Riserva) indicates additional aging in the barrel and bottle beyond the basic (non-riserva) requirements for that particular place-name