The best italian wine...an hard question
with a response?
It’s a bit hard to draw up a list and decide which is the best italian wine.
Veneto is a land of great wines, with one of the highest wine varieties in Italy. It boasts the Italy's highest number of D.O.C. wines (guarantee of origin).
Its Amarone wine is rated among the best italian wines. For some people it is definitely the best one. It's also a matter of personal taste of course.
Italy is a country with the highest number of native grape varietes in the world, more than 350.
After all Enotria, meaning wine land, was the ancient name which the Greeks used to call Italy by, a few millenniums ago.
In Italy the vines have been growing for 3000 years, thanks to the contacts with the Greeks and Phoenicians.
Later on, about 2000 years ago, the ancient Romans further developed the wine culture and turned the vine growing into an art.
The so-called bachanals were celebrations to honor the god Bacchus, i.e. the roman god of wine, during the reaping times.
No more chatting, let’s come back to the current time
If you are in search of some specific best labels, there are available some yearly wine guides, such as the prestigious Gambero Rosso, with a rating system based on the graphic symbol of a glass (3 glasses = top wine).
Another good italian guide is Duemilavini, issued by the Italian association of Sommeliers.
Other guides are the Veronelli guide, and the Luca Maroni guide.
A prestigious american wine guide is Wine Spectator.
Instead, if you are satisfied with some friendly advices, please let me give you some impartial hints.
I am no maitre sommelier but I’ve worked in the wine field for a while and I can give my two cents about what may be the best italian wine!
Plus, I drink a glass once in a while too, so I can express some personal tastes as well:)
Of course I am going to speak broadly.
No need to say that the Veneto's Amarone wine, or the Brunello di Montalcino, just to name a couple of excellent italian wines, can have a different quality, depending on the maker and the vintage as it with any wine on this earth after all.
As mentioned above, I do not purport to be comprehensive here, therefore I will restrict myself to offer just my opinion. After all tastes are personal and Veneto Explorer is not a site to hone the skills of the super wine experts!
Plus, Italy is divided into 20 regions, very diverse on their inside, and compared to each other as well.
Each of these regions, from the mountains of the far northern Trentino Alto Adige to the hills of sun burnt Sicily, is a wine producer.
And a good number of these lands could claim to be the maker of the best italian wine, or at least of some of the finest ones.
Therefore, as I made up my mind not to do wrong to any of these regions, I will mention only the region with by far the finest wine.
And the winner is...?
Trimming it down, I will combine the best wine experts rates with my personal judgment and the one of a couple of people I know..
And in the best italian wine contest, the winner is...Piedmont, a region in the north-west of Italy bordering France..(is it by accident?)
Usually the wines of this region are among the highested rated both for quality and number.
In fact, one of the universally recognized greatest wines of Italy- I dare to say by far the best italian wine - is the red Barolo wine, nicknamed the King of wines.
It has really great body, and a high alcohol content – the minimun allowed is 13°- and you can taste it only when it is at least 3 years old.
It is made with the fine Nebbiolo grape variety, native to some of Piedmont’s areas.
Of course, like all the strongest wines, it goes with very tasty dishes, like roast meat, game, spicy cheeses. And it ages very well.
Another Piedmont red wine with great body is the Barbaresco, made with the same variety of grape Nebbiolo as well. It can be drank at 2 years old, a year sooner than Barolo.
A honorable mention to the Veneto's Amarone wine
Finally, of course I will mention the region which gives name to this website. As Veneto is still one of the most important italian wine regions. Not by accident, Verona, a Veneto town, is the seat of Vinitaly, one of the most prestigious international yearly wine fairs.
Veneto is home to a fine red like the Amarone wine, considered a very great wine, if not the best Italian wine by far, for sure one of the best. And with no doubt the best wine from Veneto. Read here an overview on the Veneto wine, a big gun in the Italian scenario.
...and to the Prosecco wine and..a couple of other ones
A great white wine from Veneto, more and more popular around the world, is the sparkling Prosecco wine If you want to taste thisitalian champagne, you might want to plan a romantic getaway in its enchanting producing area!
Another note-worthy red italian wine from Veneto is the Bardolino wine, with its scenic wine producing area, close to the biggest lake of Italy, the lake of Garda.
Do you like dessert wines? Get to know Torcolato wine, a very fine sweet italian wine made in Veneto, and plan a quick getaway along its wine route.
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