Buon Appetito!

When you think of Italian wine and food, images of hefty carafes filled with rustic regional wines and overflowing bowls of pasta may come to mind. That is certainly a wonderful way to spend a long, leisurely lunch in Italy. But Italy is home to much more than a carafe of red wine and a bowl of pasta – there are many wonderful wines and unique varietals that pair with the delicious regional dishes that are specialties throughout Italy. Here’s a little primer on Italian wines and some of the best pairings for those wines.

You may be familiar with Chianti and Pinot Grigio when it comes to Italian wine, but what about Nebbiolo, Aglianico or my favorite to read off a wine list - Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. The many regions of Italy produce many excellent wine varietals, some of which we are just starting to see in the United States and often at great values. Italy is a country with a wide array of wines and foods to please the palate and the senses.

In Northern Italy, you will find the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region which is home to many unique white varietals including the most well-known, Pinot Grigio. Northern Italy is also home to the Piedmont region, known for Barbaresco and Barolo – two full-bodied and dry red wines made from the Nebbiolo grape. These are Italy’s most expensive and sought-after wines.

Traveling a bit south, you will find Tuscany, Umbria and Emilia Romagna. Tuscany is arguably Italy’s most famous winemaking region and is home to the Sangiovese grape - the key varietal in Chianti. Super Tuscans and Brunello di Montalcino also come from Tuscany. Umbria and Emilia Romagna are not nearly as well known but they are producing some interesting wines. Umbria is most known for Orvieto, a semi-sweet white wine while Emilia Romagna is most famous for Lambrusco, a wine made popular in the 1970’s as a fizzy, semi-sweet beverage. Lambrusco is making a come-back but not in the same style. Popular Lambrusco’s today are dry and fresh and make for a perfect summer evening sipper.

In Southern Italy the primary wine producing regions include Puglia, Campania and Abruzzi. Although not as famous throughout the wine-drinking world, there are many fruit-driven, juicy red wines from these regions given the warm, southern climate.

What foods to pair with Italian wine? In Italy, selecting wines from the same regions that the dish comes from is a good rule of thumb. For example, nothing pairs better with the rich and flavorful foods of the Emilia Romagna region than a crisp, dry Lambrusco while the tomato-dominant dishes of Tuscany pair wonderfully with a rich and full Chianti.

Buon Appetito!

Written by Linzi