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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION … ONE IN EVERY
FIVE BOTTLES THAT THE WORLD DRINKS IS ITALIAN

WINE is the heart and soul of Italy, for centuries part of the fabric, tradition and culture of every corner of the country. Today it attracts millions of tourists eager to savour its sheer diversity, bewildering complexity, astonishing production and remarkable quality, which makes the following statistics worthy of consideration … 

● Italy vies annually with France for the honour of being the biggest wine producer on the planet. Together with Spain they produce more than half of the world's supply.

● Around one in every five bottles of wine, on average, is Italian. Despite the emergence of Australia, New Zealand, Chile and South Africa on the international wine shelves, Italy historically produces more than all of them together.
●  There are 20 regions in Italy, from Valle d'Aosta in the north west to Puglia in the south east and including the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. Remarkably, every one of them produces wine of quality, at least some of which reaches the international market.
● And, perhaps most fascinating of all, every one of those 20 regions specialises in indigenous grape varieties. Which means they were born and bred in specific regions, a perfect match for the climate, terrain and soil, as Italian as Verdi. While the big five international varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) have spread world-wide, you won't find them dominating Italian bottles (sure, there are sizeable pockets of them, but they are very much the piccoli cugini - little cousins - of overall national production).
Instead, Piedmont has its marvellous Nebbiolo-based Barolo and Barbaresco plus deep, rich Barbera, Tuscany its smooth-as-silk Sangiovese, often in the guise of Brunello or Morellino, and the south its elegant Aglianico and power-packed Negroamaro. Not to mention those grapes which make superbly-flowery white wines the envy of the rest of the world, Greco, Fiano and the three linked by a common syllable, Vermentino, Verdicchio and Vernaccia.
● So, 20 regions, thousands of producers and dozens of superb grape varieties unheralded elsewhere in the world. The very complexity makes you wonder where on earth to start, how to pare it down to the bottle that's irresistible at a party, dinner table or wedding reception. But more, you want to go there! In which case, where should you be heading, where should you be staying and where should you be eating when you take off with a thirst to savour more than history and Renaissance art? Every year plane loads of tourists, particularly from Britain, America and the Far East, do just that: aiming to make wine and the wine lands part of their Italian Experience but rarely sure of how to make the most of it.
That's what this book sets out to answer. What it isn't is a catalogue of every wine category and grape type in the country. What it IS, first and foremost, is a personal guide to the wines you absolutely mustn't miss, which estates should be on your list and where to find them, the secrets of what the Italians drink themselves plus how to get real value for money. Second, it takes you inside those other inimitable attractions of Italy's wine regions … romantic restaurants with enticing wine lists and cuisine plus hand-picked hotels set among tranquil hillsides of vines or nestled in charming towns which are the perfect antidote to the pressures of everyday life.
They are the true Italy, far from the crammed streets of the super-cities. Use the book to plan your tasting and touring or just pack it as your holiday companion.

CHAPTER 2: THE NORTH WEST
Regions: Piedmont, Lombardy,
Liguria and Valle d'Aosta

THE twin cities of northern Italy, Turin and Milan, home of Fiat and fashion respectively and both blessed with magnificently-elegant centres, preen themselves as the true capitals of Italy. Stay there and you'll find wonderful restaurants from the cheap and family-run to the super-expensive as well as, round every corner, welcoming bars with plates of stylish snacks at the ready for the after-work, stressed-out commuters heading for traffic jams, crowded trains and home.
From either city the winelands beckon: from Turin go north and you're among the Olympic peaks and superb glacier wine of the Valle d'Aosta in under a couple of hours; from Milan, south is Genoa and Liguria's blissful Cinque Terre, while an hour to the east is the heartland of the nation's best sparkling wine, Franciacorta. But south from Turin is where you'll go first, to seek out those three most famous 'bars' of the Italian wine industry, Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera. Those three wines make Piedmont the target for half the connoisseurs of Europe and America and turn its central towns, Alba and Asti, into Italy's wine capitals.
Asti is big, busy, bustling, proud of the name that attaches itself to half of the world's great Barbera (Barbera d'Asti) and all of the world's favourite, great-value, sparkling-white Asti Spumante. Alba, perhaps more refined, elegant, pedestrian lanes and alleyways lined with stylishly-smart boutiques, mirrors those wines too … the other half of the world's best Barbera (Barbera d'Alba) plus the immense DOCG Barolos and Barbarescos, epitome of tradition and quality.
I should explain here the Italian wine classifications DOCG and DOC. DOCG is the top category, standing for Denominazione d'Origine Controllata e Garantita and applying to around 35 wines across Italy including Barolo and Barbaresco. DOC is the main quality level, standing for Denominazione d'Origine Controllata and applying to Barbera here and several hundred other wines which cover every region of Italy.
The whole region is perfect for meandering. Just a few miles outside Alba, for example, you can start your tasting mission in the gentle village of Barbaresco. A little further afield, another 15 miles or so south east of Alba, you'll undulate through the mesmerisingly-beautiful Langhe hills and start seeing the signs for the great Barolo-producing villages including Barolo itself.
Personally, I'd highly recommend making the pilgrimage to its neighbour La Morra; wind your way up the hillside, find yourself a place to park among the fleet of local Fiats and occasional German Mercedes, then stroll … the views are immense, over what seems an infinity of vineyards. And among those vineyards is possibly the greatest concentration you'll find of producers whose names rank among the superstars of Barolo and therefore of Italian wine.
It's a laid-back place, but you won't have difficulty finding a bottle and a glass! And you'll be drinking some of the best wine you'll come across in a lifetime.

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