Wine Basics

How to read Italian wine labels

As a Canadian, my French is okay… but my Italian? It could use some work.

So when I find myself strolling the Italian wine aisle at my local liquor store, I often feel a smidge overwhelmed. In addition the language barriers, there is also a seemingly endless amount of grapes and regions to choose from.

But I am determined to simplify things, for both you and me! This guide was designed to make choosing wine for your next pasta night a breeze!

Grape or Region?

As like many other “old world” wine producing countries, Italy likes to name many of their wines after the regions where they are produced. Certain grapes grow best in each area, and tradition dictates winemaking styles, so you typically know what to expect, even if you don’t know which grape varietals are included.

For example, the world-renowned Chianti is made primarily from Sangiovese grapes grown in the Chianti region.

Barolo, known as the “King of Wines”, is made from Nebbiolo grapes grown in the Barolo region. But the same grapes are also used to make Barbaresco, if grown in the region just north-east of Barolo.

And what about Valpolicella? These wines are actually made from Corvina grapes, along with several other local varietals.

But this isn’t the case for all Italian wines. Some include the grape varietal in addition to the region.

Prime examples include the ever-popular Pinot Grigio delle Venezie (Pinot Grigio grapes grown in the Veneto region) and Moscato d’Asti (Moscato grapes from Asti). Plus countless more, including Barbara d’Asti, Verdicchio dei Castelli, and Fiano di Avellino, just to start.

And what about Brunello di Montalcino? Brunello is just the local name for Sangiovese, so it’s made with the same grapes as Chianti!

Location Terms

So do you have to memorize every region in Italy to find good Italian wine? No way! That would take forever.

For a wine baby, there are just a few things you need to keep your eyes out for in order to ensure you are making high quality wine picks.

Italian wine regions, like most of the European Union, are divided into geographical sections with varying levels of restrictions that ensure quality.

The lowest of these is a PGI – Protected Geographical Indication. In Italian, these are referred to as IGTs – Indicazione Geografica Tipica. These regions are quite broad, have way less restrictions than the other levels, and therefore also have a much wider range of quality levels.

Now, that’s not to say that you can’t find good wine from an IGT. But it’s more of a risk that you’ll end up with something mediocre.

Above the IGTs, we have two levels of PDOs – Protected Designation of Origin. In Italian, these translate to DOC and DOCG – Denominazione di Origine Controllata, and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita.

DOC and DOCG on the label indicates that these regions are smaller and have much stricter regulations on the methods that can be used by winemakers. Consider the “G” a guarantee.

And one more term to keep your eyes out for: Classico.

When you see the term Classico used on an Italian wine label, it means that the grapes used were harvested from the historic center of the region. These sites are typically the best, hillier sites, and the grapes are more concentrated in flavour.

Winemaking Terms

Of course, there’s more that goes into a finished wine than just the grapes. Even with tight regulations, there are still some options for winemakers. Let’s look at Valpolicella as an example.

From our lessons above, I know that Valpolicella is made from Corvina grapes, and I know the difference between Valpolicella and Valpolicella Classico. But what about Amarone della Valpolicella? Or Recioto della Valpolicella?

Both Amarone and Recioto actually refer to the use of the same winemaking technique, but with different outcomes.

They signify the use of a technique called appassimento, where a winemaker partially dries the grapes after they have been harvested. This concentrates the tannins, acids, sugars, and flavours.

If appassimento is used and the wine is fermented dry, it will be labelled Amarone. If appassimento is used and the resulting wine is still sweet due to the high levels of residual sugar, it will be labelled Recioto.

Another example is Recioto di Soave – Garganega grapes grown in the Soave region, dried using appassimento, and retaining sweetness.

Aging

The final term you will want to keep an eye out for is Riserva. These winemaker “reserves” these wines, by spending more time aging them at the winery prior to being released for public consumption.

The amount of aging required to use this term varies depending on the region, but if you prefer your wine pre-aged, this is what you want to look for.

What are you favourite Italian wines? Share in the comments!