Harvest: Explore Italy’s wine regions

(CF) - Italian wines – at turns flinty and restrained or lush and fruit-forward – are commonly regarded as some of the world’s best. So why not, on your next Italian holiday, fit some vineyard touring into the agenda? Below is a guide to some of Italy’s top wine-producing regions. With a glass in hand and a plate of Italian food in front of you, you’ll be feeling pretty close to paradise.

Tuscany

Most travellers will be familiar with Tuscany as one of Italy’s foremost wine regions, and while it attracts many visitors, its stellar wines make trips worthwhile. Famous primarily for red varieties like Chianti, Tuscany’s Sangiovese grape can also be found in the region’s Brunellos, Montepulcianos, and modern “Super Tuscan” blends.

Piedmont

No list of Italy’s top wine regions would be complete without Piedmont. The region is known for its big, bodacious reds – like Barolo and Barbaresco, which use the Nebbiolo grape – as well as a number of dry whites and Moscato.

Veneto

Skip Venice and head to the humid flatlands of the Po Valley towards Verona, and you’ll be sure to discover some truly stellar wineries. Amarone, Prosecco, Soave, and Valpolicella all call this particular patch of land home.