Your cellar, your trips, and the wines you've been tracking are right where you left them.
New here?
Free, always. Education first, we'll never sell you anything you didn't ask to see.
Already have an account?
Enter the email you signed up with and we'll send a link to choose a new password.
Northern Italy
From Cinque Terre cliffs to the Pornassio Alps, eight DOCs deliver Pigato, Vermentino, Rossese and Sciacchetrà across 350 km of Riviera coast.
Liguria is the thinnest wine region in Italy: a 350 km arc of coast pressed between the Maritime Alps, the Apennines and the Ligurian Sea, almost without a flat field. Vines cling to dry-stone terraces above Vernazza and Manarola, climb to 600 metres around Pornassio, and stretch across the Magra alluvial plain at the Tuscan border. Eight DOCs and four IGTs share fewer than 1,500 hectares, with Vermentino, Pigato, Bosco, Albarola, Rossese, Ormeasco and Bianchetta Genovese as the core grapes.
The wines mirror the geography: salty Bosco-Albarola whites from Cinque Terre, herbal Pigato from Albenga, textural Vermentino from Colli di Luni, perfumed cru Rossese from Dolceacqua and savoury mountain Ormeasco from Pornassio. Most production is hand-tended, micro-scale and consumed locally, which is exactly why Liguria still feels like a discovery.
The named places that explain the region's grapes, styles, and labels, plotted across the map.
Five terraced fishing villages where Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino cling to vertical schist cliffs above the Ligurian Sea.
Cinque Terre is the most photographed vineyard landscape in Italy: dry-stone walls hold rows of Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino on slopes too steep for tractors. The white blend is salty and almondy; the rare passito Sciacchetrà concentrates the same grapes into apricot, fig and sea-spray sweetness. Production is tiny and largely consumed locally.
The western Riviera around Imperia and Savona, home to Pigato and the most aromatic Vermentinos in Italy.
From Albenga to Imperia the coast turns inland into amphitheatres of Pigato and Vermentino, plus pockets of Rossese and Granaccia. Pigato here shows white peach, sage and a saline finish; Vermentino is fuller and more savoury than its Sardinian cousin. The DOC umbrella covers six sub-zones including Albenga, Riviera dei Fiori and Finalese.
Liguria's red-wine heartland on the French border: small Rossese vineyards staked vertically into ligurian schist.
Tucked behind Ventimiglia where Liguria meets Provence, the Val Nervia and its tributaries grow Rossese on terraced amphitheatres named after each plot (Pini, Arcagna, Posaù, Beragna). Rossese di Dolceacqua is one of Italy's most perfumed light reds: rose petal, wild strawberry, white pepper and a salty mineral finish. Producers ferment cru by cru and bottle young.
Liguria's Vermentino flagship, straddling the Tuscan border around the ancient Roman port of Luni.
Colli di Luni runs from the Magra valley up into the Lunigiana hills, sharing soils and traditions with northern Tuscany. Vermentino is the calling card: riper and more textural than coastal Liguria styles, often with white-flower and bitter-almond finish. Sangiovese rounds out the red side. Lunae's Black Label has set the regional benchmark for over two decades.
High-altitude mountain DOC where Ormeasco (the Ligurian biotype of Dolcetto) makes Liguria's most age-worthy reds.
In the Ligurian Alps above Imperia, Ormeasco di Pornassio grows between 400 and 700 metres. Cooler nights and stony soils give a savoury, wild-cherry-and-iron red that ages a decade with ease, plus a unique pale-rosato Sciac-trà bottling for aperitivo. Production is tiny and almost entirely from family estates around Pornassio, Cosio and Mendatica.
The eastern Riviera's pleasure-coast, where Bianchetta Genovese, Vermentino and Ciliegiolo serve Genoa and the yacht crowd.
Behind Portofino and Santa Margherita the Tigullio hills produce easy-drinking whites from Bianchetta Genovese and Vermentino plus light reds from Ciliegiolo. The DOC also covers small-production sparkling Bianchetta and a pink Ciliegiolo aperitivo style. Vini Bisson set the modern template with sea-aged metodo classico.
Layered notes on terroir, history, label rules, taste, drinking window and where to start.
Three hundred and fifty kilometres of coast, almost no flat ground, and a microclimate that swings from Provençal in the west to Tuscan in the east.
Liguria is barely 30 km wide at most points, yet it packs four climatic zones into that strip. The western Riviera di Ponente, sheltered by the Maritime Alps, is the warmest and driest corner of north Italy and behaves like the French côte d'Azur. The eastern Riviera di Levante, opening toward the Apennines, gets more rain and cooler nights. Behind the coast, the Pornassio uplands climb above 600 metres into a true mountain DOC. Soils mirror this geology: Cinque Terre's vertical schist and sandstone, Dolceacqua's dark marl, the Magra valley's alluvial clays, the Albenga plain's sands. The constant is slope. Almost everything outside the Magra plain is grown on hand-tended terraces held up by dry-stone walls, and the human cost of farming them is the reason production stays around 46,000 hectolitres.
Twenty-two centuries of viticulture, a near-total collapse in the 20th century, and a quiet renaissance led by mountain estates and Cinque Terre cooperatives.
Vines were already on the Tigullio coast when the Romans founded Luni in 177 BC and shipped Lunense wine to the Eternal City. The Republic of Genoa later traded Cinque Terre passito across the Mediterranean. By the late 20th century the vineyard area had collapsed from over 12,000 to fewer than 1,500 hectares, the terraces abandoned and the producers retired. The recovery began in two places at once: the Cooperativa Agricoltura di Cinque Terre rebuilt walls and reclaimed plots from 1973 onward, while in Dolceacqua single-vineyard Rossese bottlings such as Tenuta Anfosso's Poggio Pini and Maccario's Posaù put Liguria back on critical maps. Today most growers are second-generation returnees in their 30s and 40s.
Eight DOCs, no DOCG, and four IGTs that act as the catch-all for everything outside the official zones.
Every official Liguria DOC is a regional trademark, not a single-village name: Cinque Terre and Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà sit under one decree, as do Pornassio and Ormeasco di Pornassio. Riviera Ligure di Ponente carries six geographical mentions on the label (Albenga, Albenganese, Finalese, Riviera dei Fiori, Quiliano, Taggia). Cinque Terre with the Costa de Sera, Costa de Campu or Costa de Posa mention denotes a specific cliff sub-zone. Sciacchetrà must be made from at least 40% Bosco and reach 17% potential alcohol with passito drying. The four IGTs (Colline del Genovesato, Colline Savonesi, Liguria di Levante, Terrazze dell'Imperiese) cover varietal labels and experimental blends outside DOC rules.
Salt, herbs and citrus on the white side; rose, sour cherry and white pepper on the red side. Body is rarely the point.
Pigato leads with white peach, sage and a chalky finish; Vermentino in Liguria runs more savoury and almondy than the Sardinian style, especially from Colli di Luni. Bosco-led Cinque Terre whites are saline and almost saltwater-bitter, perfect with anchovies. Bianchetta Genovese makes a delicate apple-blossom aperitif. On the red side, Rossese di Dolceacqua is the standout: think of a Mediterranean Nebbiolo run through a Pinot Noir filter, all rose petal, strawberry and white pepper. Ormeasco di Pornassio is heavier-set, with wild cherry, iron and a savoury Apennine bitterness. Sciacchetrà is the outlier: amber gold, apricot jam, walnut and a salt-spray finish that keeps it from cloying.
Most Liguria whites are at their best in the year after harvest. Rossese, Ormeasco and Sciacchetrà reward patience.
Pigato, Vermentino and Bianchetta should be opened young: salty primary fruit fades after 18 to 24 months in bottle. The exception is single-vineyard Vermentino from Colli di Luni and barrel-rested Pigato from Crocetta or Maria Donata Bianchi, which gain hazelnut and beeswax over five years. Rossese di Dolceacqua cru bottlings (Posaù, Pini, Beragna, Arcagna) drink beautifully from year three to year ten and the very best go further. Ormeasco di Pornassio Superiore needs three to four years in bottle and rewards a decade. Sciacchetrà is essentially immortal once bottled. Recent vintages worth seeking: 2019 (balanced), 2020 (concentrated), 2022 (early but ripe), 2023 (cool and aromatic).
Pair a Cinque Terre rail pass with a Riviera Ponente drive and a Dolceacqua detour, and you cover all eight DOCs in three days.
The Cinque Terre Express train from La Spezia to Levanto is the easiest way to taste Bosco-Albarola whites at the source: every village has a co-op enoteca minutes from the station. Riviera Ponente works best by car from Albenga, looping inland through Salea, Ranzo and Ortovero for Pigato cellars before climbing to Pornassio for Ormeasco at altitude. Dolceacqua deserves a day on its own: park in the village, walk the Lurisia and Pini cru paths and book a vertical tasting at Tenuta Anfosso, Maccario Dringenberg or Ka' Manciné. Colli di Luni is a quick detour from Sarzana toward Castelnuovo Magra, with Lunae's enoteca acting as a regional anchor.
A short shortlist that maps the region: benchmark reds, signature whites and the labels worth a step-up.
Liguria's most legendary bottle: Bosco-led grapes air-dried for two months on graticci, then fermented to a deep amber sweet wine of apricot, fig, walnut and sea spray. Tiny production, often allocated, and one of the few Italian passito wines made within sight of the sea.
Bosco
Single-vineyard Rossese from sites like Posaù, Pini, Beragna and Arcagna: rose petal, wild strawberry, white pepper and salty grip, with the transparency of a Mediterranean Nebbiolo. Best from producers like Maccario Dringenberg, Tenuta Anfosso and Ka' Manciné.
Rossese
From the alluvial Magra valley straddling Tuscany, Colli di Luni Vermentino is fuller and more savoury than coastal Ligurian whites: white peach, almond, salty herbs and a long bitter-almond finish. Lunae's Etichetta Nera defines the cru style and ages five years comfortably.
Vermentino
Pigato (genetically Vermentino, phenotypically distinct) gives white peach, sage, salt and a chalky finish from sites around Albenga and Imperia. Best examples come from Bruna, Maria Donata Bianchi, Durin, Calleri and Vis Amoris.
Pigato
Grown between 400 and 700 metres in the Ligurian Alps, Ormeasco (the local biotype of Dolcetto) yields a dark wild-cherry red with iron, juniper and a savoury Apennine bitterness. Superiore versions from Guglierame, Lupi and Tenuta Maffone reward five to ten years in bottle.
Dolcetto
Bosco-led blend with Albarola and Vermentino from cliff terraces above Vernazza, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Pale, saline, almost saltwater-bitter, with white blossom and lemon rind. The textbook anchovy and acciughe-al-verde wine.
Bosco
1 curated guide with editorial content. Pronunciations, traits and the regional footprint of each variety.
Vermentino (vair-men-TEE-no) is an aromatic white grape variety.
A starter selection from the catalogue. Pour them as a regional flight.
2 retailers
Appellation TBD
2 retailers
£21.41
£22.11
1 retailer
Appellation TBD
1 retailer
£11.50
1 retailer
Colli di Luni
1 retailer
£12.90
1 retailer
Appellation TBD
1 retailer
£19.90
1 retailer
Appellation TBD
1 retailer
£20.35
£22.19
1 retailer
Appellation TBD
1 retailer
£23.00
1 retailer
Riviera Ligure di Ponente
1 retailer
£23.90
1 retailer
Appellation TBD
1 retailer
£24.47
Mountain, pasture and coast on one plate. Pour the regional wine alongside.
Ligurian food is built around the sea, basil and olive oil. Pesto Genovese with trofie or trenette wants a herbal Pigato from Riviera Ligure di Ponente or a textural Vermentino from Colli di Luni. Salt-cod brandacujun and acciughe al verde need the saline lift of Cinque Terre Bosco-Albarola whites. Coniglio alla ligure, stuffed with pine nuts and olives, calls for a perfumed Rossese di Dolceacqua. Stockfish and chickpea farinata go beautifully with Bianchetta Genovese from the Tigullio gulf.
Baci di Alassio are the Ligurian riviera's hazelnut-chocolate cookies, twin domes of ground hazelnut sandwiched around dark chocolate. Pasquale Balzola invented them in Alassio in 1919. Moscato d'Asti DOCG or a chilled Brachetto d'Acqui DOCG bring the aromatic sweetness to mirror the cookie; both are Piedmontese cross-border choices.
Coniglio alla Ligure is the Ligurian coastal rabbit, browned in olive oil with Taggiasca olives, pine nuts, rosemary and a splash of Vermentino. The dish comes from the hills between Imperia and Sanremo. Rossese di Dolceacqua DOC is the canonical pairing, a pale light red with enough herbal lift to mirror the rosemary; Vermentino di Colli di Luni DOC takes the white side.
Focaccia is the Ligurian olive-oil flatbread, dimpled, salty and fragrant before it ever needs a topping. The wine should clean up oil and sea salt without overwhelming the bread. Vermentino and Pigato are the natural Ligurian choices, while Prosecco Superiore works when the focaccia is served as aperitivo food.
Focaccia di Recco is a Ligurian cheese-filled flatbread, thin sheets of dough trapping warm stracchino rather than behaving like pizza. The cheese is tangy and creamy, so the wine needs snap. Pigato and Vermentino are the cleanest matches, with dry Prosecco useful when the bread is eaten hot from the oven.
Focaccia Genovese is a Ligurian bread of olive oil, salt and soft chew, usually eaten plain enough for the dough to matter. A heavy red misses the point. Vermentino and Pigato keep the oil bright, Prosecco adds lift, and light Rossese can work when the bread is served with cured meats.
Torta Pasqualina is the Ligurian Easter pie, thirty-three thin layers of pasta matta folded around wild greens, ricotta and whole eggs. Pigato di Albenga or a young Vermentino di Colli di Luni DOC has the salt-lift the oil-rich filling asks for. The eggs inside are meant to stay partly runny when the pie is sliced.
Wine routes, towns and wineries to follow when you go.
From Levanto to La Spezia by Cinque Terre Express, tasting saline Bosco-Albarola whites and Sciacchetrà passito at every village stop.
Two-day driving loop from Albenga inland through Pigato country, climbing to Pornassio for Ormeasco at altitude.
Eastern Liguria drive from the Tigullio gulf to the Tuscan border, ending with Lunae's Vermentino flight in Castelnuovo Magra.
One-day walk through the Val Nervia crus that put Rossese di Dolceacqua on the world map.
Regional capital, historic export port for Cinque Terre wines and the gateway to the Tigullio and Genovesato vineyards.
Genoa's old town hosts the Enoteca Regionale della Liguria and a dense network of focaccerie that built the city's pesto-and-Pigato lunch tradition. The hills above (Coronata, Val Polcèvera) still grow Bianchetta Genovese under the IGT Colline del Genovesato.
One of the five Cinque Terre villages, with terraced vineyards rising directly behind the harbour.
Vernazza sits in the heart of Cinque Terre DOC and Sciacchetrà production. The cooperative cellar above the village runs walking tastings of Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino blends harvested by monorotaia from cliff plots.
Medieval village on the French border, capital of Liguria's most acclaimed red wine.
Rossese di Dolceacqua DOC takes its name from the village. Cellars line the river below the Doria castle, and the surrounding crus (Posaù, Pini, Beragna, Arcagna, Luvaira) are walkable on marked paths.
Hilltop village at the Tuscan border that anchors the Colli di Luni Vermentino zone.
Castelnuovo houses the Enoteca Pubblica della Liguria and several Colli di Luni benchmark estates including Lunae and Ottaviano Lambruschi. The Magra valley below sits on the alluvial soils that give Liguria's most textural Vermentino.
Roman-era city on the Riviera di Ponente, surrounded by Pigato and Vermentino vineyards.
Albenga's plain and the surrounding Salea-Ranzo-Ortovero amphitheatre supply the largest share of Riviera Ligure di Ponente Pigato. The city hosts Vinarius festival each spring.
Mountain village in the Alta Valle Arroscia, namesake of Liguria's only true mountain DOC.
Vineyards around Pornassio, Cosio d'Arroscia and Mendatica sit between 500 and 700 metres, producing Ormeasco di Pornassio reds and the local Sciac-trà rosato. Most estates are family micro-producers under 3 hectares.
Quick answers about Liguria. Numbers, denominations, food and what to start with.
Liguria has eight DOCs and four IGTs but no DOCG. The region's vineyards are extremely fragmented (most estates are under three hectares) and total production is small, so no consortium has yet pushed a single denomination through the lengthy DOCG promotion process. Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà and Rossese di Dolceacqua are the most often-cited candidates.
Sciacchetrà is a passito sweet wine from the Cinque Terre DOC, made by air-drying Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino grapes for two months on graticci before fermenting them to a deep amber wine of apricot, fig, walnut and salt spray. Yields are tiny and almost everything is hand-carried down cliff terraces, so total annual production rarely exceeds a few thousand bottles.
Genetically Pigato and Vermentino are the same variety, but centuries of selection on the Riviera di Ponente have produced a distinct biotype. Pigato shows more white peach, sage and bitter almond; Vermentino is leaner with more citrus and salt. Both are bottled separately under Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC and the difference is recognised in the disciplinare.
Genovese pesto needs a wine that can match basil, garlic and pine nuts without going flat. Vermentino from Colli di Luni is the classic answer, while a Pigato from Riviera Ligure di Ponente brings extra herbal lift. With focaccia and stuffed focaccia di Recco, lighter Bianchetta Genovese under the Golfo del Tigullio DOC works beautifully.
Late April to early June and mid-September to mid-October are ideal. The summer heatwave between July and August makes coastal walks tough and most cellars run shorter hours. Harvest on the Cinque Terre cliffs runs from mid-September to early October; Ormeasco di Pornassio in the mountains is picked later, often into the second half of October.
Specialist Italian importers in the UK, US, Germany and Japan stock Lunae, Maccario Dringenberg, Tenuta Anfosso, Bisson, Bruna and Punta Crena, but volumes are small. Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà and single-cru Rossese are usually allocation-only. Buying directly at the region's Enoteche Regionali in Castelnuovo Magra and Genoa is often the surest way to taste a full range.
We currently list 20 wines from Liguria, starting from £11.50. Browse them all on our wines page.
We currently curate 1 active Liguria grape guide, including Vermentino. This is an editorial selection, not the complete regional grape list.
Liguria is renowned for dishes including Baci di Alassio, Coniglio alla ligure, Focaccia, Focaccia di Recco.
More of Northern Italy, with similar terroir and table.
Wine styles made in Liguria
1
