Italian Wine

When you think of wine, you might think France, but nobody sells more wine than Italy. Even more surprising is that the vast majority of it is table wine. This is where Italy has historically differed from France, France's wines are meant to steal the spotlight, while Italy's were mostly intended to compliment the food. As they are relatively acidic and dry, the vast majority of Italian wines are not intended to be consumed by themselves. This trend is changing though, especially once Italy joined the E.U.

Italy's wine culture is one of the oldest in Europe, the first Italian vineyards were planted sometime around 2000 BC. Today, Italy boasts two million producers of wine, and that number is only growing. Italy's wine classification scheme is closest to Spain's, with regions that have consistently produced excellent wines getting trademark status. Further, as in Spain, the more prestigious wines must be aged before they are sold.