Where vinous France is perhaps most of all associated with distinguished wine castles, counts and barons, Italy smells a bit more of vintners and bast bottles.
In this unpretentious atmosphere, excellent wines are produced, some of which have ended up as pure cult wines.
Almost every small suitable patch of land in Italy is covered with vines, and Italy is also in constant competition with France to be the country that produces the most wine. In total, around 6 million bottles of Italian wine are produced per year – equally divided between red and white wine.
The wine varies enormously depending on which district it comes from, as well as which grape varieties it is made from - and here the Italians use a sea of local grapes. Up north in Tuscany and Umbria, elegant red wines are produced, while warm Puglia (the heel of the boot) and Sicily offer wines with muscle.
Where vinous France is perhaps most of all associated with distinguished wine castles, counts and barons, Italy smells a bit more of vintners and bast bottles.
In this unpretentious atmosphere, excellent wines are produced, some of which have ended up as pure cult wines.
Almost every small suitable patch of land in Italy is covered with vines, and Italy is also in constant competition with France to be the country that produces the most wine. In total, around 6 million bottles of Italian wine are produced per year – equally divided between red and white wine.
The wine varies enormously depending on which district it comes from, as well as which grape varieties it is made from - and here the Italians use a sea of local grapes. Up north in Tuscany and Umbria, elegant red wines are produced, while warm Puglia (the heel of the boot) and Sicily offer wines with muscle.