Italian Grape Varieties

Pinot grigio [pee-no-gree-jo] is a white grape varietal from Northern Italy.

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Primitivo (“pree-mee-TEE-vo”) is one of the most popular red wines of Southern Italy.

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Falanghina (“fah-lawn -GHEE-nah”) is a white grape variety of Balkan origin, present in Southern Italy and in particular in Campania where it represents the base varietal of many fine wines.

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Sangiovese (san-jo-vay-zeh) is the undisputed king of red wines in central Italy, virtually present in every area of the country Thanks to its many clones and surprising versatility, Sangiovese can create a wide range of wines: from young and fresh Chiantis to complex and full-bodied Brunellos.

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Aglianico [ahl-YAH-nee-ko] is an ancient Southern Italian varietal with lots of charm.

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The Carricante grape [Car-ri-can-te] is a Sicilian white grape variety deeply rooted in the volcanic terroir around Mount Etna.

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Widespread in western Sicily, the indigenous Grillo (GREE-loh) grape is a key component in the production of Marsala wines.

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Montepulciano (Mon-teh-pool-chee-ah-noh) is the second most widely planted red grape variety in Italy, after Sangiovese.

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Nero d'Avola (Neh-roh DAH-voh-lah) is the most widespread grape variety in Sicily.

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Ribolla Gialla is the ancient white grape of Friuli Venezia Giulia, native to the Collio and Colli Orientali hills around Gorizia and Udine.

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Vermentino (vair-men-TEE-no) is an aromatic white grape variety.

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Lambrusco (Lahm-BROO-sko) is a family of grapes that produces fun sparkling wines, both sweet and dry, that are among the most popular in the world.

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One of the most approachable red wines in Italy, Barbera (“bar-BAY-rah”) is a fresh and fruity wine that is always present on the tables of the inhabitants of Piedmont.

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Nebbiolo (Nay-bee-OH-lo) is a native Italian variety cultivated in the northern regions, whose name derives from the word “Nebbia” which is Italian for fog.

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Pignoletto (“pee-yoh-LAY-toh”) is a dry and aromatic Italian white wine produced from the homonymous grape variety, also known as Grechetto Gentile, in the central region of Emilia-Romagna.

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Glera is the white grape behind Prosecco, Italy's most celebrated sparkling wine.

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For wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs in the UK seeking a unique sip that epitomises Mediterranean flair, the Nerello Mascalese [Neh-rel-loh Mas-ka-leh-seh] grape is a must-try.

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Embark on a vinous journey with Pecorino (peh-koh-REE-noh), a grape that encapsulates the essence of Italy's heartland.

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Arneis is Piedmont's revived white grape, grown mainly in the sandy Roero hills across the Tanaro from the Barolo vineyards.

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Bombino Bianco is a white grape of Puglia's Adriatic side, especially around Castel del Monte, though it also appears in Emilia-Romagna as Pagadebit and in Lazio as Ottonese.

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Bombino Nero is Puglia's late-ripening red grape for serious rosato, most clearly in Castel del Monte Bombino Nero DOCG.

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Cabernet Franc is the quieter half of the Bordeaux pair, lighter and more perfumed than Cabernet Sauvignon, which it happens to have fathered.

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Cabernet Sauvignon is the Bordeaux-born red grape that reshaped modern Italian wine.

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Grenache is a thin-skinned red grape grown across the Mediterranean, but in Italy it goes by the name Cannonau and rules the reds of Sardinia.

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Catarratto is the white grape that built Sicily, for generations the island's most-planted vine and the workhorse behind oceans of Marsala.

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Chardonnay is a white grape with a clear Italian role: Franciacorta DOCG and Alta Langa DOCG include it in metodo classico sparkling wines, while Sicilia DOC gives it a warmer still-wine voice.

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Cortese is the white grape of Gavi DOCG, grown across the marl and limestone hills of south-eastern Piedmont around Alessandria and the Alto Monferrato.

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Corvina is the principal red grape of Verona's wine country, forming the backbone of Valpolicella DOC, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG, and Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG.

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Dolcetto is Piedmont's everyday red grape, grown on the high ridges of the Langhe, the Monferrato and the Alessandrino for centuries.

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Erbamat is an ancient white grape from the Brescia hills of Lombardy, almost lost in the twentieth century and now welcomed back into the Franciacorta DOCG as a fourth permitted variety.

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Fiano is the golden-hued white grape behind Campania's benchmark Fiano di Avellino DOCG, grown in the volcanic hills of Irpinia.

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Frappato is the pale, perfumed red of south-eastern Sicily, grown almost entirely around Vittoria in the province of Ragusa.

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Friulano is the benchmark dry white of Friuli Venezia Giulia, grown on the ponca marl hills of Collio and Colli Orientali in Italy's far northeast.

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Garganega is the ancient white grape behind Soave, grown across the volcanic hills east of Verona in the Veneto.

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Gewürztraminer, called Traminer Aromatico in Italian, is Alto Adige's lychee-scented aromatic white.

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Grecanico is western Sicily's tangy golden-skinned white, the same vine that Veneto knows as Garganega.

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Greco is the structured, smoky white of Campania, carried to southern Italy by Greek settlers nearly three thousand years ago.

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Malvasia Bianca di Basilicata is the indigenous white grape of Lucania, the backbone of Matera DOC Bianco and Spumante (minimum 70%) and a steady presence in Basilicata IGT, Grottino di Roccanova DOC and Terre dell'Alta Val d'Agri DOC.

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Malvasia di Candia is a white grape with two faces: a workhorse biotype that anchors the Lazio whites of Frascati DOCG and the Castelli Romani, and the genetically distinct Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, the perfumed Emilian clone that defines Colli Piacentini DOC and Colli di Parma DOC.

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Malvasia di Lipari is the golden-skinned white grape of the Aeolian islands, grown on the terraced volcanic slopes of Salina and Lipari off Sicily's northern coast.

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Malvasia Istriana is the indigenous white grape of Friuli Venezia Giulia, anchored on the Carso plateau outside Trieste and the Collio hills along the Slovenian border.

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Malvasia Nera di Basilicata is an indigenous black grape grown almost exclusively in inland Basilicata, with around 114 hectares planted nationwide.

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Malvasia Puntinata is the aromatic white grape behind Frascati DOC, Cannellino di Frascati DOCG, and Roma DOC, anchored on the volcanic slopes of the Castelli Romani south of Rome.

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Merlot is a red grape with a serious Italian footprint: Bolgheri DOC, Bolgheri Rosso, Cortona DOC, Suvereto DOCG, Rubicone IGT and Montello Rosso DOCG form its Italian map.

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Moscato is the white aromatic grape behind Moscato d'Asti DOCG and Asti Spumante DOCG in southern Piedmont.

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Müller-Thurgau is a white grape that found its truest Italian home among the high-altitude vineyards of Trentino-Alto Adige.

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Negroamaro is the dark, warming red of Puglia's Salento, the sun-baked heel of Italy.

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Nerello Cappuccio is the softer, darker partner to Nerello Mascalese on Mount Etna, where it is permitted up to 20 per cent of the blend in Etna Rosso.

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Pinot Bianco is northern Italy's quiet benchmark white, a Burgundian mutation of Pinot Nero that Alto Adige and Friuli's Collio have turned into precise, age-worthy bottles.

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Pinot Nero is the Italian name for Pinot Noir, the great red grape of Burgundy, and in Italy's cool north it wears three hats.

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Prëmetta (Prié Rouge) is an indigenous red grape of Italy's Valle d'Aosta, grown mainly around Sarre and the central valley.

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Prié Blanc is the lone native white grape of Valle d'Aosta, ripening between 900 and 1200 metres in the Valdigne foothills of Mont Blanc.

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Sauvignon Blanc is the sharp, green-scented white behind Friuli's Collio and Isonzo bottlings and Alto Adige's mountain Sauvignon, and the leading grape in coastal Tuscan whites like Ornellaia's Poggio alle Gazze.

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Syrah is the dark, structured red of the northern Rhone, but Italy has quietly built its own version.

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Trebbiano Abruzzese is the white grape behind Abruzzo's most distinctive whites, including the textural, age-worthy bottlings of Valentini, Emidio Pepe and Tiberio.

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Trebbiano Toscano is the workhorse white grape of central Italy, planted across Tuscany, Lazio and Umbria.

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Turbiana is the white grape of Lugana DOC, grown on the clay-rich morainic shores south of Lake Garda across Lombardy and Veneto.

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Verdicchio is the pale straw-gold white grape behind Marche's two benchmark whites, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and Verdicchio di Matelica.

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Viognier is the golden-skinned white grape of France's northern Rhone that Italy grows on purpose.

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Zibibbo is the aromatic white grape of Sicily's far south, known to science as Muscat of Alexandria.

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