Wine Tasting - Wine Tours in Italy

Friuli Venezia Giulia, the small region located in the northeast corner of Italy, is an area well known for the production of excellent whites, including Pinot Grigio.

Terre di Gioia Pinot Grigio is an overtly fruity wine, with aromas of pineapple, honeydew melons, and a touch of creaminess. It retains, however, that crisp touch and lightness that makes Pinot Grigio so refreshing and popular.

It will do very well paired with seafood of all kinds, especially white fish or shrimp, so it is a good choice to accompany Christmas dishes.

According a survey conducted by Vinitaly.it among a sample of wine enthusiasts in Italy, Prosecco of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, is the favorite wine to accompany appetizers and for pre-dinner time.

Prosecco, a dry and pleasantly bitter wine, that thanks its versatility satisfies the most demanding palates, is ideal to accomapny seafood dishes and - the sparkling variety, for aperitifs.
The Prosecco production zone is an area of Veneto including the hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.

The Vinitaly study also revealed that Italians would love conclude their day with Franciacorta and Champagne, which are indicated as the perfect wines for the summer nights.

Franciacorta is a dry sparkling wine from Lombardy.
White or rosà¨, with delicate and harmonious aroma, ideal for dessert and after dinner hours.

Winter sports fans traveling to Turin for the Olympic Games have more than a chance to taste high quality wines.

Turin is the capitol of Piedmont, one of the most important areas in Italy for the production of highly rated wines.
Sparkling and still, sweet and dry, red and white, common denominator of Piedmont’s wines is the high quality.

Below a list among the most known, including the areas of production where to locate wineries for wine tasting.

- Asti
Production area: Langhe and Monferrato hills.
Straw yellow wine, sparkling or still, with a sweet taste.

- Barbaresco
Production area: northeast of Alba
Ruby red wine, dry still

- Barolo
Production area: northeast of Alba
Ruby red wine, dry still

- Barbera d’Alba
Production area: large area around Alba
Ruby red wine, dry still, with a acid taste, ideal to accompany a traditional local dish: the ‘Bagna cauda’

- Dolcetto d’Asti
Production area: southeast of Asti
Ruby red wine, dry still, with a soft taste

We’ll be back on Piedmont’s wines with wine tours in the production areas

What Italian wine would you suggest with Salami?

A couple of southern red wines and a rosàŠ from Lombardy.

Aglianico del Vulture, is a wine from Basilicata (and Apulia), deep south of the peninsula.

It is a ruby red coloured wine, dry, fresh, and tasty, with alcohol 12 %. It is aged between three to nine years, served at cellar temperature. The production area is north of Potenza, close the border with Apulia.

Savuto, is a red wine from Calabria. Dry, light ruby coloured, 12% alcohol, served at 18° - 20° Celsius, is okay to accompany typical Calabrian salumi.

Finally a wine from north Italy, Riviera del Garda Bresciano, a rosਠwine, whose production area is located along the western shores of the Lake Garda. It is light red wine, dry, soft with a delicate aroma, 11.5% alcohol, served at around 15° Celsius.

A post on Travel Italy Tips by answering to a traveler going to Italy for first time, covers the basic suggestions for wine novices aiming to taste Italian wines, while spending their holidays there.

The post, Wine Advice for First Time Italy Traveler, intends to provide basic tips to wine novices who do not opt for any wine tasting tours packages, while vacationing in the main Italy’s art cities (Venice, Florence, Rome).

Just any basic advice to enrich - better say, to start, their knowledge about Italian wine.