Italian winemaking dates back to the earliest days of Roman civilization and was brought there from Greece, where it also was a staple of the culture. With its mild Mediterranean climate, all 20 of Italy's regions produce wine and have throughout history. Although in the lore of winemaking, Italy has been surpassed by France, the country still produces some of the best wine in the world.

If the wine market were limited to the middle European countries famous for their wines, Italy would rank third behind both France and Germany. Although wine is produced all over the country, the best known of Italian wines is Chianti, a red wine from the Tuscany region. Other top Italian wines, also red, include Barolo and Valpolicella. The top white wine is Soave, a dry white.

Rebirth of Italian Wines

Unlike other traditional wine producing regions, the wine of Italy had been in decline for many years. This decline prompted the government to institute quality controls in 1963, but those only covered a small part of the total production. Many wine lovers still seek those wines labeled, "Guarantita" or "guaranteed" to be the best. The other class of Italian wine is "vino da tavola" (or "table wine"). Compared to the strict government rules these wines are inferior, but today it often simply means the vintner preferred his own standards over those of the government as opposed to a lesser quality of wine.

Over the past 25 years, winemakers in Italy have been rethinking their methods. They are using less fertilizer and are taking better care of the land and the grapes. They also have stopped trying to maximize the amount of grapes per acre and are concentrating instead on quality and are expanding the types of grapes produced.

Tours

Italy is a prime European tourist destination and tour companies offer trips almost anywhere and everywhere. These package tours often are based around a theme and allow the tourist to modify their itinerary to suit their desires. Of these, wine tours are very popular. There are even tour companies that specialize in arranging nothing but Italian wine tours. The most popular destinations for these tours are the regions of Tuscany and Veneto.

Some of these tours can be booked from a city such as Florence that leave in the morning and have you back at the hotel by the end of the day. The day trip usually will get tourists a visit to a winery or two along with a tour of the picturesque vineyards. They also are likely to include a good bit of wine tasting in the bargain.

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