There are more than one million wine growers in Italy.

Wine is the Italy’s national drink and is considered a national passion. The country is known for producing some of the best wines in the world. Therefore, in order for you to get to enjoy the best of Italian wines, you ought to understand how to decode an Italian wine list.

Understanding the pertinent information is the first step. Getting to know the producer’s name is helpful in understanding if the wine is easily found or is rare. Just like French wine, Italian wines are named after the region which the grapes are grown. For an Italian wine to carry the name of a region, it requires up to 80% composition of grapes from that particular region. Each of the wine regions in Italy specializes in different grape varieties and thus different types of wine. The older vintage variation of wines tends to have less prominent tannin’s than the newer ones. It is therefore important to learn the foundations of leading Italian wine regions for you to fully understand an Italian wine list.

All the 20 wine growing regions in Italy adhere to regulations that govern the growth grapes and production of wine. Wines bearing abbreviations DOCG are from regions that have the most stringent regulations. Wines bearing abbreviations DOC come from regions with fewer regulations than DOCG, while wines that bear abbreviations IGT describe wines which have the least regulations. The only regulation ICG wines must adhere to is for them to have been made anywhere in Italy. Regardless of this abbreviations, you should never think that the wine that’s grown and produced with the most stringent regulations is expensive.

Understanding wine etiquette when it comes to ordering and drinking it in an Italian restaurant is very important. Wine is always filled to the halfway point in a wine glass. Before the waiter serves you wine, he or she will serve a little portion in a glass for you to taste it and ask you for feedback before continuing serving. Even though the waiter does this, it does not mean that the wine may be bad. Neither does it mean that you can opt not to have the wine that he or she has already opened.

When in Italy, it is best you try the food tour Rome. Romans are passionate about Italian food. Italian food is renowned for its exquisite dishes and delicious flavors. It is only when in Italy that you are able to experience the true taste and passion of Italian food. You will get to enjoy the freshly prepared pizzas, taste the local kinds of pasta and risotto balls, drink the famous Italian coffee and taste the finest cheese. The food tour Rome is never complete without having a sample of the famous Italian wines.

It is not compulsory for you to learn Italian to enjoy the finest Italian wine varieties. The above guidelines are the basics that you may need for ordering wines with confidence from an Italian wine list.

Andrea Vitolino – expert in Italian wines.