Italian wine regions

Italy's 20 wine regions correspond to the 20 political regions. Understanding of Italian wine becomes clearer with an understanding of the differences between each region; their cuisines reflect their indigenous wines, and vice-versa. The 43 DOCG wines are located in 13 different regions but most of them are concentrated in Piedmont and Tuscany. Among these are appellations appreciated and sought by wine lovers around the world: Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello and Chianti Classico. Despite its high quality Amarone is not classified as a DOCG.

The regions are from Northwest to Southeast:
Aosta Valley (Valle D'Aosta)
Piedmont (Piemonte)
Liguria
Lombardy (Lombardia)
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Veneto
Emilia-Romagna
Tuscany (Toscana)
Marche (Le Marche)
Umbria
Lazio
Abruzzo
Molise
Campania
Basilicata
Apulia (Puglia)
Calabria
Sicily (Sicilia)
Sardinia (Sardegna)

Important wine-relevant geographic characteristics of Italy include:
  • The extensive latitudinal range of the country permits wine growing from the Alps in the north to almost within sight of Africa in the south.
  • The fact that Italy is a peninsula with a long shoreline, contributing moderating climate to coastal wine regions.
  • The extensive mountains and foothills providing a range of altitudes for grape growing and a variety of climate and soil conditions.