Wine Complete

Italy produces more wine than any other country, and a full two thirds of Italian wines are reds. Italy has been crafting wines since the early days of the Roman Empire and the vinyards run up and down the entire length of the country. If you are interested in red wine in general, then you should know something about Italian reds.

Chianti

Chianti is one of the most popular and best red wines available in Italy. There are quite alot of varieties of Chianti available, so you may want to experiment a bit to find the types that appeal to you the most. Chianti used to be the type of wine you would see that had the thick bottles with the straw mesh on them. In the last 20 years however, Chianti has started to come in your standard 750ml bottles. In addition, the Italian Government has stricter controls on Chianti production and the types of grapes that may be used. This has led to a huge boom for Chianti. If you know nothing about this type of wine, possibly start out with: Ruffino, Da Vinci, Antinori, and Ricasoli.

Other Reds

One of the best Italian red wines is Montepulciano. This is one of my personal favorites and I have been seeing it in more and more restaurants in the last few years. Anything after 2002 is definately worth looking into.

Brunello is a very good wine and I have enjoyed it a few times now. I have been told that Brunello is best when aged at least 5-10 years, but I havent experimented with this yet. Brunello has changed in the last 20 years and now is aged in oak barrels. This gives Brunello a better, fruiter taste than in the past. If you are interested in Brunello and don’t know anything about it, try Barbi, Caparzo, or Altesino to start.

There are various wines in Piedmont that are excellent. Piedmont is the region in northwest Italy and makes alot of the heavier reds. The grapes in this region are almost all hillside varieties. Piedmont wines often have a very full style and some of the highest alcohol contents in any red wines. If you are interested in sampling some wines from Piedmont, I recommend starting with some of the lighter styles. Some of these styles are Barbera and Dolcetto.

Conclusion

Italian wines are changing. In the past almost all wine crafted in Italy was consumed in Italy. Italy has a long tradition of winemaking and wine was consumed everyday in large quantities. Italians are now starting to drink more beers domestically, and have really stepped up production for exports. This is good news for us non-Italians because Italy makes some great red wines.  Italian wine makers are also beginning to experiment with other types of grapes such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. One thing that isn’t so good about the new Italian wines is that they are starting to increase in price now that they have focused on exports. Your worth it though, give Italian red wines a try and you will be pleased.