Chianti is an Italian red wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany, principally from the Sangiovese grape. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco. However, the fiasco is now only used by a few makers of the wine; most Chianti is bottled in more standard-shaped wine bottles. In the latter nineteenth century, Baron Bettino Ricasoli helped establish Sangiovese as the blend's dominant grape variety, creating the blueprint for today's Chianti wines.
Abruzzo, historically known as Abruzzi, is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and north-west, Molise to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the highest massifs of the Apennines, such as the Gran Sasso d'Italia and the Maiella, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
Brunello di Montalcino is a red DOCG Italian wine produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino, in the province of Siena, located about 80 km south of Florence in the Tuscany wine region. Brunello, a diminutive of Bruno ("brown"), is the name that was given locally to what was believed to be an individual grape variety grown in Montalcino. In 1879 the Province of Siena's Amphelographic Commission determined, after a few years of controlled experiments, that Sangiovese and Brunello were the same grape variety, and that the former should be its designated name. In Montalcino the name Brunello evolved into the designation of the wine produced with 100% Sangiovese.
Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of 702,000 hectares under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for 19 per cent of global production, ahead of France and Spain. Italian wine is both exported around the world and popular domestically among Italians, who consume an average of 42 litres per capita, ranking fifth in world wine consumption.
Vin Santo is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, though Sangiovese may be used to produce a rosé style known as "Occhio di Pernice" or eye of the partridge. The wines may also be described as straw wines since they are often produced by drying the freshly harvested grapes on straw mats in a warm and well ventilated area of the house. Though technically a dessert wine, a Vin Santo can vary in sweetness levels from bone dry to extremely sweet. While the style is believed to have originated in Tuscany, examples of Vin Santo can be found throughout Italy and it is an authorised style of wine for several Denominazione di origine controllata (DOCs) and Indicazione geografica tipica (IGTs).
Tollo is a comune and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Tollo is renowned for its vineyards and olive groves. It is situated in the 'Hills of the Teatina', a group of foothills of the Apennines, with a view of the Adriatic sea to the east, and a view of the Maiella Mountain, the second highest peak in middle Italy, to the west.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a red wine with a denominazione di origine controllata e garantita status produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montepulciano, Italy. The wine is made primarily from the Sangiovese grape varietal, blended with Canaiolo Nero (10%–20%) and small amounts of other local varieties such as Mammolo. The wine is aged for 2 years ; three years if it is a riserva. The wine should not be confused with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a red wine made from the Montepulciano grape in the Abruzzo region of east-central Italy.
Brindisi Rosso is a red DOC wine from the Southern Italian province of Brindisi, in the region of Apulia. The official appellation was granted on November 22, 1979, when a presidential decree was published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale dated April 23, 1980, after lobbying by the firm of Pasquale Medico & Sons and other producers. In recent years the production of this variety of wine has declined considerably, due to the uprooting of vines as a result of incentives from the EU, which has favoured other products. The province of Brindisi has a very long tradition of wine making, largely because Brindisi was the Roman gateway to the East and sold its wine to Rome along with salt and olive oil imported from the empire's Mediterranean provinces.
Montepulciano is a red Italian wine grape variety that is most noted for being the primary grape behind the DOCG wines Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Offida Rosso; and the DOC wines Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Rosso Conero, and Rosso Piceno Superiore.
Taurasi and Taurasi riserva are red, still Italian wines based principally on the Aglianico grape variety produced in the Province of Avellino in the Campania region. They were awarded Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status in 1970 and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) status in 1993. Produced less than 40 miles (64 km) from the other Aglianico stronghold of Aglianico del Vulture in Basilicata, the volcanic soils of the Taurasi region demonstrate the potential the Aglianico grape has to make wines on par with the Nebbiolo grape of Piedmont and Sangiovese grape of Tuscany. The popularity of the region's wine is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the early 1990s, there was only one winery (Mastroberardino), producing wine for the export market. By the mid-2000s, there were over 293 producers in the Taurausi zone.
Tuscan wine is Italian wine from the Tuscany region. Located in central Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast, Tuscany is home to some of the world's most notable wine regions. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are primarily made with Sangiovese grape whereas the Vernaccia grape is the basis of the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Tuscany is also known for the dessert wine Vin Santo, made from a variety of the region's grapes. Tuscany has forty-one Denominazioni di origine controllata (DOC) and eleven Denominazioni di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). In the 1970s a new class of wines known in the trade as "Super Tuscans" emerged. These wines were made outside DOC/DOCG regulations but were considered of high quality and commanded high prices. Many of these wines became cult wines. In the reformation of the Italian classification system many of the original Super Tuscans now qualify as DOC or DOCG wines but some producers still prefer the declassified rankings or to use the Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) classification of Toscana. Tuscany has six sub-categories of IGT wines today.
Bombino bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety planted primarily along Italy's Adriatic coast line, most notably in Apulia. The vine is prone to high yields and often produces neutral flavor wines. The grape is known under many synonyms throughout Italy including Debit and Pagadebit, names which came from the grape's reputation for being a high yielding and reliable crop for vineyard owners to grow that would assure them that on each vintage they could pay off their debts.
Pecorino is a white Italian wine grape variety that grows in the Marche, Abruzzo, Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio regions of Italy. Ampelographers believe that the grape is likely native to Marche, where the soil destined for this cultivation increases every year. This grape variety is used to produce the DOCG wines, like the Offida Pecorino DOCG, and the DOC wines, like the Falerio dei Colli Ascolani, the Colli Maceratesi and the Falerio dei Colli Ascolani.
Colline Lucchesi is a denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) for wine, created in 1968, that is located in northern Tuscany, Italy, and centered near the commune of Lucca.
Colli di Luni is an Italian Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) located in both Liguria and Tuscany in northwest Italy. The DOC produces both reds and white wines made primarily from Sangiovese and Vermentino with a varietal Vermentino also being produced in the DOC.
Abruzzo is an Italian wine region located in the mountainous central Italian region of Abruzzo along the Adriatic Sea. It is bordered by the Molise wine region to the south, Marche to the north and Lazio to the west. Abruzzo's rugged terrain, 65% of which is mountainous, help to isolate the region from the winemaking influence of the ancient Romans and Etruscans in Tuscany but the area has had a long history of wine production.
The traditional cuisine of Abruzzo is eclectic, drawing on pastoral, mountain, and coastal cuisine. Staples of Abruzzo cuisine include bread, pasta, meat, fish, cheese, and wine. The isolation which has characterized the region for centuries has ensured the independence of its culinary tradition from those of nearby regions. Local cuisine was widely appreciated in a 2013 survey among foreign tourists.
Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo is an Italian DOC classification of a rosé style wine made from the Montepulciano grape in Italy's Abruzzo wine region. The name cerasuolo relates to the deep color the wine obtains from even very brief skin-contact with the highly pigmented skins of the Montepulciano grapes.
