Italian Wine Regions - A Tasting Guide

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Italian Wine Regions: Tasting Guide

Tuscany

Tuscany is the ancestral home of some of Italy's finest wines, with Sangiovese being the dominant red grape variety.

Located southwest of Emilia-Romagna, the region's most celebrated wines are bold, age-worthy reds, such as;

Chianti Classico DOCG: The historic and geographically specific heart of the Chianti region, nestled in the mountains between Florence and Siena. These wines are characterised by their high acidity, pronounced notes of sour cherry, plum, herb, and spice.
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG: Regarded as one of Italy's most prestigious and long-lived wines, this powerful red is made exclusively from a local clone of Sangiovese known as Brunello in the area surrounding the town of Montalcino.

Puglia

Located in the ‘heel of Italy’s boot’, Puglia is blessed with hours of sunshine, producing red wines that are rich, robust and full of black fruit and spice flavours.

The two most popular grape varieties here are Primitivo and Negroamaro:

Puglian Primitivos are bold, full-bodied reds boasting notes of blueberries, blackberries, liquorice and black pepper – sometimes with hints of chocolate and spice from being aged in American oak.
The key to Negromaro’s character is in the name, meaning ‘black’ and ‘bitter’ in Italian. These wines have notes of ripe black fruit, cloves, coffee and cinnamon.

Recommendation: Pillastro Primitivo, a bold red full of spicy black fruit and oaky richness.

Piedmont

Nebbiolo forms the backbone of Piedmont's most prestigious red wines, but white wines from Piedmont are also renowned. The most popular examples include;

Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco DOCG: Considered among the finest reds in the world, the best examples can age gracefully for decades.
Barbera and Dolcetto: For more accessible, easy-drinking styles, the region offers Barbera (an aromatic, fruity red) and Dolcetto (a fruit-forward, dry red).
Gavi DOCG: Made from the local Cortese grape, these white wines are prized for their crisp, refreshing acidity and delicate aromas of lime and herbs.
Moscato d’Asti DOCG: The sweet, lightly sparkling Moscato d’Asti that works perfectly as an aperitif or with desserts.

Recommendation: Villa Broglia Gavi di Gavi - a leading star of northern Italy, sipped over the years by diplomats, politicians and even popes.

Sicily

One of Italy’s most exciting winemaking regions, Sicily has a warm climate thanks to seemingly endless sunshine, along with cooling coastal breezes. This makes it perfect for grape growing, and local winemakers are fast gaining a reputation for their high-quality reds and whites.

Nero d’Avola - Sicily’s most widely planted red grape variety is Nero d’Avola, producing weighty red wines with smooth tannins and dark cherry, plum and liquorice spice flavours.
Frappato - a more easy-going grape that generally produces light-bodied, strawberry-scented wines.
Nerello Mascalese - a rare, much-prized, red grape that thrives in the volcanic soils around Etna and produces light to medium-bodied red wines reminiscent of fine Pinot Noir.

Sicily is also home to the iconic fortified wine Marsala, made in dry and sweet styles on the island’s western side.

Or if white wine is more your thing, look for wines with peachy notes made from Grillo or the rare Carricante grape.

Recommendation: Kew Gardens Carricante - Made in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this is a bright and zingy wine with ripe stone fruit.

Veneto

Veneto is the birthplace of some of Italy’s most famous wines, including Prosecco and Amarone – wines at very different ends of the taste spectrum!

Prosecco accounts for a large chunk of Veneto's annual wine production - popular around the globe due to its easy-drinking style, juicy pear aromas and wallet-friendly prices. The best Proseccos hail from the hillside vineyards of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Cartizze DOCGs.

The region’s top red is Valpolicella, made in various styles from light, juicy and fresh, to intense, dark and weighty. Valpolicella Classico is a vibrant, easy-drinking red with sour cherry notes, while Amarone is loved for its richness and power.

Recommendation: Casa Cantalini - our No.1 bestselling Prosecco, the ultimate crowd-pleaser.