Obviously a meaningful one page summary of Italy is just not possible, it vies with Spain as the largest producer of wine in the world by volume, boasts hundreds of indigenous grape varieties and each of its many regions makes their own distinct wines.

However I found it helpful to split the wine regions into three groups: The northern regions of Piemonte, Trentino, Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli which sit below the Alp and Dolomite mountain ranges and have mostly a Continental climate except for parts of Veneto and Friuli which are maritime. 

Next the band of regions either side of the Apennines across the middle of the country: Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Marche and Abruzzo. The Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas provide these regions with a warm Mediterranean climate except for the mountainous inland parts, such as Umbria, which are mildly continental.

Finaly the southern part of Italy: Campagnia, Puglia, Basilicata along with the islands of Etna, Sardenia and Pantelleria. These regions are also Mediterranean but with the heat turned up higher.

I have condensed the WSET Diploma D3 material into an overall summary map of Italy, posted here, and a pairs of sheets each summarising the above groupings which are posted separately.  Again the notes are organised into the key subject areas of: climate, topography, growing hazards, wine law, grape varieties, wine growing and wine making practices.

To date (May 25) wines from Italy have come up for both the country and region questions. For instance in October 2024 the three wines were Gavi di Gavi, Barolo and Aglianico and in Oct 2020 the wines were Amarone, Marche Verdicchio and Chianti Rufina.  Recent regions were Veneto, again with Amarone, Valpolicella and a Soave and Piemonte again with Barolo and Gavi di Gavi with a Dolcetto. The Barolo and Amarone were the bankers here and then knowledge of the main regions and their key varieties along with some deduction would have been needed to identify the other generally high acid reds and whites.  Barolo has come up several times in the mixed bag but so has Nero d’Avola. Pinot Grigio has come up in the grape variety question along with an Alsatian and New Zealand Pinot Gris which should make sense as a group.

Sources include: WSET Diploma Wines of the World, Oxford Wine Companion by Julia Harding and Jancis Robinson.

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