Italian wines for beginners - A beginner guide to Italian wines

Do you want to know where all that delicious Italian wine that you're sipping comes from? I do. Well, stay tuned because today we're going to tell you more about Italian wines. Don't go anywhere. Hi everyone, I'm Rick. And I'm Andrea. And today we will tell you all about the most famous Italian wines and where they come from. But first, if you like travel related videos like this one, now is a great time to hit the subscribe button down below so you never miss any future videos. You know, I always love it when you say that because it's great advice. Thank you. Before we begin, let's make something very clear. We will not cover every single Italian wine. That would be impossible. Every region, province, town, village, or even your farm. Even your uncle. Exactly, even my uncle. As it's some delicious wine. In this video, we will only cover the most famous wine. The one you can find all over the world. So please, don't be mad at us if we did not mention the wine from your own town. We are sure that's amazing, but not everyone is able to find it. For example, our favorite Rombrusco. It's almost impossible to find it outside our province. So we want to talk about it. Yeah, we can't even find it outside of, you know, where we live. I mean, we live in Italy. If we travel to another part of Italy, we can't find it. We have to take it with us. Exactly. So the most famous wines of Italy come from seven regions. These are Piemonte, Lombardia, Trentino, Veneto, Toscana, Puglia, and Sicilia. So let's start our journey about Italian wines in Piemonte, or Piedmont in English. Piemonte is an Italian region in northwest of the country bordering France. The capital of Piemonte is Torino. And by the way, if you want to see more about the beautiful city of Torino, click here. And you know what else they have? They have chocolate. Absolutely. All right. So Piemonte is world famous for their red wines. And the most famous area for winemaking in Piemonte is the Lange area. Did I say that right? Yes. The same area where most of the white truffles come from. The two most famous wines from Piemonte are Barbaresco and Barolo. They're both made with Nebbiolo grapes, and they're full-bodied red wines with a high alcohol content. These are the perfect wines to pair with red meat and strong cheeses. The typical dishes from the Piemonte area. Now, the main differences between Barolo and Barbaresco are the aging time in oak. So you've got three years for Barolo and two years for Barbaresco. At least. Barolo is also more complex in flavor and body than the Barbaresco. They're both delicious wines and totally worth trying them out. Absolutely. So let's move east of Piemonte, and then we can talk about two types of wine that are very similar, but they come from two different regions. We are talking about Lombardia and Trentino. Both regions produce some of the best sparkling wine in Italy. In Lombardia, the area where the sparkling wine is made is called Franciacorta, while in Trentino is the area around the city of Trento, which is also the capital of Trentino. Both types of wines are made following the classic champagne method, or metodo classico. The Trentino dock wines are more creamy, fresh and long-lasting compared to the wine from Franciacorta, that contain more minerals and are drier. But both very, very good. Absolutely delicious, actually. Choosing between them is just a matter of personal preferences. I personally prefer the wines from the Trentino area. So what about you, Rick? Oh, if it has bubbles, I'm happy. By the way, give us a like if you agree that bubbles are good. All right, but seriously though, for me, it's a tough choice. You know, I like Chia del Bosco as a Franciacorta, but I also like the Ferrari wines as a Trento dock. I guess if I'm going to bring a bottle of wine to a dinner party, I would probably pick a Franciacorta, because it's more showy and it's kind of like the Italian champagne. But they're both incredible wines. And now we move east again to another incredible wine region called Veneto. Veneto is located in the northeast of Italy and its capital is Venice. The region is world famous for both red and white wines. For whites, Veneto is famous for its suave wines, while for red, Amarone is the king in Veneto. Amarone is produced in the Valpolicella area of the province of Verona. To produce Amarone, only the ripest grapes get used from the top of each bunch. After picking, they're left to shrivel on straw mats. The grapes are then fermented and Amarone has an alcohol content between 14 and 16 percent. So strong. Yes, and it's a wine that pairs perfectly with heavy dishes like braised meat. Perfect for the wintertime. And a very popular dish of Veneto and Verona in particular is the Amarone risotto. Definitely a must try if you visit Verona. Absolutely. Veneto is almost very famous for another wine that nowadays is probably the most famous wine in the world. You guessed it, Prosecco. Prosecco is made in the Valdobbiadene area of Veneto in the province of Treviso, about 50 kilometers from Venice. The sparkling white wine is fresh, fruity, and a hint of sweet. It's the perfect wine to drink on a hot summer day by the beach. And it's not very strong in alcohol, so it's perfect. Prosecco is also the wine used to make the most famous aperitivo in the world, which is Spritz. By the way, here's a funny video of my Ikea Spritz. You guessed why it's called Ikea? So ladies and gentlemen, I just invented a new cocktail. It's called the Ikea Spritz. You just add one glass of Aperol, one Prosecco, a splash of club soda, and an orange slice. And you put it together yourself. So why is it? The Ikea Spritz. So why is it called the Ikea Spritz? Because they bring you all the things, the ingredients, and you put it together yourself. You just need an alergy. All right. So now let's move to one of my most favorite wines, the ones from Tuscany. Tuscany is located in central Italy, and its capital is Florence. Tuscany is world famous for its reds. And Chianti is the most famous kind of red from Tuscany. And it's also my favorite wine ever. Chianti is a blend that must contain at least 80% of central basic grapes. The other 20% can be Cabernet, Merlot, or Syrah. Now, there's a separate kind of Chianti nowadays called the Chianti Classico. And this can be made with up to 100% of central basic grapes, and must contain at least 12% alcohol. And actually, this one is 13.5. Chianti is made in the Chianti area. Really? Between the provinces of Florence, Arezzo, and Siena. The name Chianti was first recorded in 700 AD. And Broglio, one of the major producers of Chianti, has been in business since 1141. Can you believe it? 1141? Yeah. In Tuscany, you can also find other very famous reds, Brunello di Montalcino. Also, recently, some winemakers started to produce wines with some different types of grapes, and they call these the Super Tuscans. Some of the most famous Super Tuscan wines are Sassacaia, Tiganello, and Ornelia. And to wrap up the Tuscan wines, we have to mention the dessert wine that is typical of Tuscany, and it's called Vinsanto. This is made from grapes that are left to dry on straw mats. This is typically served in Tuscany with the dry cookies called Cantucci, called everywhere else in the world as biscotti, that are dunked in the wine to soften them up because they're a bit dry. Yes, they put cookies in wine in this country. So let's move to a different region. Now we're talking about Puglia. Puglia, if you look at a map of Italy, is the heel of the boot. The capital of Puglia is Bari. Puglia is very famous for the great beaches and some amazing towns, great food, and wine as well. The most famous wine from Puglia is the Negramaro. It's produced with the Negramaro grapes that are native of the southern area of the region, called Salento. Dessert wine is full-body wine with a hint of minerals and sapidity. It also has aromas of fruits and jam and wild berries. A very complex wine. Yep, definitely. Now, last but not least, we have Sicily. Sicily is the largest island in the Med. Its capital is Palermo. It's also one of the most famous travel destinations for its beaches, cities, and archaeological sites. One of the most famous wines from Sicily is Nero d'Avola. This is a wine produced with the Nero d'Avola grapes, and I just realized that I've never tried this. Really, no, no. But from what I know, it's a dark red with hints of spices, dry fruits, and berries. Sicily is also the place where one of the most famous fortified wines in the world is produced, and that's the Marsala wine. Apparently, the Marsala wine became famous when the British businessman John Woodhouse brought the wine produced in the area of Marsala all the way back to England. In order to avoid the wine from spoiling, he added some aqua vie to the wine. And this wine became incredibly popular in the UK, and Woodhouse then went back to Sicily where he started producing the wine. The Marsala wine is a fortified wine that ages in oak barrels, and it can be sweet, semi-dry, and dry. The first kind pairs well with desserts and chocolate and zabaglione. The dry variety pairs great with strong cheeses and can be used as a digestive. Well, folks, this concludes our overview about Italian wines. And as we told you, we only covered the most famous wines. It would be impossible to talk about all of them. Now, we hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any questions, feel free to leave us in a comment below. Cheers! Yes, cheers! Bye, guys. Bye.