Italian Wines
Italy has the richest variety of individual wine
styles, local climates and the most important indigenous grape varieties of all
the world’s wine producing countries. The invading Greeks
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...called
Italy Oenotria (the land of wine) and a glance at a wine map reminds one that
Italy is carpeted in vines. If slopes, sunshine, soil variety and a temperate
climate are essential components of varied, quality wine production then Italy
has it all. The long spine of mountains that run from the sheltering Alps
almost to North Africa produce the most desirable combination of altitude with
latitude and exposure. Despite natural ability, unification only 150 years ago
means that quality wine production, appealing to an international market is a
relatively recent phenomenon. Today, growers have had their battles with a
bureaucracy that wanted to put a permanent-lock on innovation and from top to
bottom this is a land brimming with talent and flavour. The tomato may still be
searching for its ideal wine partner, but for everything else Italy has a
match.
