Wine, Wine & more Wine

Italian wine is one of the most difficult regions to get to know. Why? “Perche” for one reaons, the Italians use an esoteric wine labelers (just like the French). But that’s not even the big obstacle. The challenge (as large as their mountains) is learning all the different grape varieties.

At the moment, there are about 350 official Italian wine varieties. There have been rumors that over 2,000 different Italian grapes exist, but this might be a bit of an exaggeration- well, that is if you ask an Italian. They do tend to embellish, but one thing is for absolute sure, their wines are Bellissimo!

You can go to any Agriturismo, hotel or small restaurant and order the house wine for 5 euros a Caraffe and you can always bet on a great glass of wine. The Italians would never serve a bad glass of wine, not intentionally anyway!

Try red wines from Tuscany as well as a sweet wine called Vin Santo.

Tuscany is home to the Chianti region which is the most famous region for Sangiovese. When Sangiovese became the required major grape in Chianti during the 1970’s, the other noble grapes (Cabs & Merlots) ended up creating a new style of wine “Super Tuscan!” If not for the great wines alone, I love the name Super Tuscan because it is a Super place with “SUPERB” wines. For white wines in this region, keep in mind that Trebbiano is Italy’s most produced white grape and Vermentino has quite a few taste similarities to Sauvignon Blanc.