Very few people know that Italy produces and exports extremely large amounts of wine of the finest quality. Italian wines are also of surprisingly many various types. Of course, people who haven’t been members of a wine club for a long time or who haven’t had much experience with wines don’t know much about the two main Italian wine categories. Indeed, generally speaking, Italian wines can be divided into table wines and the so called “higher end wines”. The latter category includes all DOC and DOCG wines, made of grapes from specific regions. But what they have in common is that all Italian wines go very well with Italian food and with most international cuisine as well.

Italian table wines are less expensive, yet very good quality, often sold in large bottles that look like jugs. Many of them have a fruity taste and they are regularly consumed for family dinners all over Italy as well as abroad. Some of them can be sparkling, some of them are dry and some are sweet, and there body is usually medium-light. One of the most well known table wines is Lambrusco: a dry, red wine, a little bit sparkling. Chianti is also representative of Italian table wines. Some people prefer Bera Dolcetto d’Alba, but the list could go on and on. All these table wines are reasonably priced.

Besides the Italian table wines, there are exceptional Italian wines coming from the main regions: the Super-Tuscans, which can be Sangiovese mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot or Cabernet Franc. These blends are so fine that a bottle of wine will cost a little bit more. The best known Super-Tuscan wine producers are Antinori and Viticcio. Also, there’s the Barolo Wines, the Amarone wines, which come from the area called Valpolicella, in North-eastern Italy. The latter are fruit-forward flavored, really bold red wines. Their content of alcohol is slightly higher. Some of the most renowned Amarone producers are Speri and Allegrini and, of course, Masi. Many people also like the Pinot Grigio wines, which are quite aromatic white wines.