Italian Wine Label Information

Italian wine laws are comparatively straightforward, as all the wines are classified under four designations.

Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG): the highest classification for quality Italian wines, established in 1963. The word 'Garantita' signifies that the production and quality of these wines are not only controlled but also guaranteed. As with other quality wines of Europe, there are strict rules governing the production of DOCG wines, including the permitted grape varieties, yield limits, restrictions on additions during winemaking, minimum/maximum alcohol levels and ageing specifications, to name a few.

Each DOCG wine goes through a strict goverment-approved tasting procedure before being bottled. To prevent any further manipulation or counterfeiting, the bottles have a numbered government seal across the neck.

As at January 2011, there were 56 Italian DOCGs spread across the country, although not all of Italy's 20 wine regions produced these wines.

Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC): below DOCG and equivalent to the French AOC level, the DOC classification accounts for the majority of wine production in Italy. It encompasses almost all the legal specifications applicable to French AOC wines, such as restrictions on the use of grape varieties, permitted yields, alcohol levels, ageing specifications, and processing techniques during wine making.

Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT): The IGT classification was brought into being as part of the 1992 wine legislation which came to be known as the 'Goria Law' – after Giovanni Goria, the then minister of agriculture. Its aim was to accomodate those wines which did not qualify for any of the quality wine designations (DOCG & DOC), mostly due to the use of grape varieties other than those specified for quality wines. Therefore they were labeled as Vino da Tavolas (VDT).

Another important reason behind the creation of this classification was that European Union wine laws did not allow labels to mention grape varieties, vintage or estate names, which formed an intrinsic part of the identity of these wines.

Vino da Tavola (VDT): Italian table wine. This is not always synonymous with other countries' legal definitions of 'table wine'. The appellation indicates either an inferior quaffing wine, or one that does not follow current wine law.

Piedmont (Piemonte in Italian), in the north-western corner of the Italian Peninsula, is arguably Italy's finest wine region. It sits at the foot of the Western Alps, which encircle the region to the north and west, forming Italy's naturally formidable border with France. To its south-east lie the northernmost Apennine Mountains – L'Appennino Settentrionale. These low coastal hills divide Piedmont from its long, thin neighbor Liguria, which is all that separates Piedmont from the Mediterranean Sea.

The name Piemonte means 'at the foot of the mountains', and this emphasis on the surrounding topography is entirely justified; not only did the Alps and Apennines once protect the region from invasion, they are also largely responsible for its favorable climate. While Piedmontese winemaking has always benefited from the latter, it wasn't until the region's mountain defenses were successfully breached (first by the Romans, then repeatedly by the French) that advanced oenology finally arrived here. The introduction and regular updating of foreign winemaking technologies is one of the main reasons that Piedmont remains so viticulturally advanced compared to other Italian regions. The region's proximity to France also plays a part.

Piedmont is often described as the 'Burgundy' of Italy, a reputation due to its many small-scale, family wineries and a focus on quality which sometimes borders on obsession. What Burgundy does with Pinot Noir, Piedmont does with Nebbiolo – not the region's most widely planted grape, but the one which has made the largest contribution to the quality and reputation of its wine. Nebbiolo grapes are behind four of Piedmont's DOCGs: Barolo and Barbaresco (two of Italy's finest reds), Roero and Gattinara. Nebbiolo wines are known for their 'tar and roses' bouquet, and the pronounced tannins which can make them unapproachable in their youth but underwrite their excellent cellaring potential. The grape is known as Spanna in the north and east of Piedmont, and is used in at least ten local DOCs including Carema, Fara and Nebbiolo d'Alba.

Barbera, a dark-skinned variety from the Monferrato hills, is Piedmont's 'workhorse' grape, although it is responsible for a growing number of superlative wines, sold mostly as Barbera del Monferrato, Barbera d’Asti or Barbera d'Alba. Barbera-based wines from Piedmont are classically Italian: tangy reds with good acidity and aromas of fresh plums and dark cherries. They are noticeably less tannic than their Nebbiolo-based counterparts, making them more enjoyable (and more marketable) earlier on in their lives. This has made Barbera popular among wineries and consumers alike, and consequently Barbera is Piedmont's most widely planted red variety.

The third red grape of Piedmont is Dolcetto, with several DOCs to its name (d'Alba, d'Acqui and di Ovada are the top three). Although its name means 'little sweet one', Dolcetto is usually used to make dry red wines with an appetizing, gently bitter finish. Unfortunately, the care and attention lavished on Nebbiolo and Barbera too often leave their poor cousin Dolcetto lacking refinement and complexity. 

Brachetto is also worthy of mention, not least for its role in the sweet, sparkling reds of the Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG. So too is Freisa, with its broad portfolio of sweet, dry, still and sparkling red wines made in Asti and Chieri.

Although Piedmont is known as a red-wine region, there are three Piedmontese white wines which are known the world over, although for very different reasons. The first two are crowd-pleasing Moscato d’Asti and sparkling Asti Spumante, both

made from Moscato grapes grown around Asti. The third is Gavi, the Piedmontese white of the connoisseur: it is made from Cortese, a local variety which has also proved popular in Colli Tortonesi and Alto Monferrato.

Cortese is a white Italian wine grape variety predominantly grown in the southeastern regions of Piedmont in the provinces of Alessandria and Asti. It is the primary grape of the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) wines of Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato and Colli Tortonesi as well as the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wine of Cortese di Gavi. Significant plantings of Cortese can also be found in the Lombardy region of Oltrepò Pavese and in the DOC white blends of the Veneto wine region of Bianco di Custoza. Cortese has a long history in Italian viticulture with written documentation naming the grape among the plantings in a Piedmontese vineyard as early as 1659. The grape's moderate acidity and light flavors has made it a favorite for the restaurants in nearby Genoa as a wine pairing with the local seafood caught off the Ligurian coast.[1]

One of the earliest documentation of the Cortese grape dates back to a 1659 report to the Marchesa Doria from the estate manager of the family's villa in Montaldeo that states that all the vineyards were planted with Cortese and Vermentino. In 1870, the ampelographers P.P. DeMaria and Carlo Leardi noted that the Cortese was being widely cultivated in the Alessandria province of Piedmont where it was prized for its hardiness to grape diseases and ability to produce large crop yields as well as it high quality wine.[1]

Today Cortese is most widely associated with the DOCG wine Cortese di Gavi produced in the Gavi region of Alessandria. There are significant plantings of the grape throughout southeastern Piedmont including the DOC wine producing areas of Colli Tortonesi and Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato located a few miles to the west of Gavi and of Monferrato Casalese Cortese which extends to the Basso Monferrato north of the Tanaro. Despite its close proximately, Cortese has a significant more difficult time fully ripening in Tortona and Monferrato than in Gavi. Piemonte Cortese DOC can be made in the Province of Cuneo to the west, as well as those of Alessandria and Asti.

Outside of Piedmont the grape can be found in significant quantities in the Oltrepò Pavese, part of the Province of Pavia in Lombardy which borders the Province of Alessandria. Further east, Garda Cortese DOC is produced in the hills near Lake Garda (provinces of Brescia and Mantova in Lombardy, and the province of Verona in the Veneto). The grape may also be used as part of the blend for the Bianco di Custoza DOC, also near Lake Garda in the Province of Verona. As of 2000, there were 3,800 acres (1,500 ha) of Cortese planted throughout Italy.[1]

Wines made from Cortese (particularly those from the DOCG Gavi) have long been favored by restaurants in the southern neighboring port of Genoa as a wine pairing with the local seafood caught off the Ligurian coast. The wine's moderate acidity and light, crisp flavors pair well with the delicate flavors of some fish.[1] Cortese wines tend to be medium bodied with notes of limes and greengage. In vintages that are particularly cool, the wines can be aggressively acidic and lean but winemaking techniques such as malolactic fermentation and oak barrel fermentation can temper that.

Barbera is a dark-skinned red wine grape variety from the hills of north-western Italy. Found in several Italian wine regions other than its native Piedmont (these include Emilia-Romagna, Puglia, Campania and even the island regions Sicily and Sardinia), it is nation's third most commonly planted red wine grape, behind only the ubiquitous Sangiovese and Montepulciano. Barbera grapes are used both in blended wines and varietals, the latter of which will become increasingly common as Italy continues its move towards varietal labeling.Most wine authorities cite the Monferrato hills around Asti as the variety's birthplace and the vine has traveled widely in the past two centuries. Its peregrinations have led it most notably to Australia, Argentina and California, most likely shadowing Italian migration patterns over the centuries (© All rights reserved, Wine-Searcher). It has this in common with Nebbiolo, although Barbera has adapted much more readily to these new environments than its fussy Piedmontese cousin, and is now responsible for wines of very high quality in each of these countries. Like Nebbiolo, Barbera has been the source of much debate over how it is best treated, with traditionalists arguing in favor of longer maceration and less oak and modernists championing rounder, more approachable wine styles softened by time in barrel.Being naturally high in acidity, Barbera can be grown in warmer climates without producing overblown, flat wines. Even warmer sites in Sonoma Valley and the Sierra Foothills of California have produced balanced Barbera-based wines. This acidity complements the cherry-like flavors found in typical Barbera, and has contributed to the (largely justified) stereotype of Italian red wines as being ripe, bright and tangy rather than voluptuous and earthy. When young, most Barbera wines have a red cherry zing about them, distinguished from Nebbiolo's zing (by which Barbera is all too often overshadowed) by softer tannins and a certain roundness. When matured in barrel and allowed to age in bottle for a few years, this turns to a denser, sour-cherry note, like baked morello cherries with a hint of vanilla. A warm Merlot-like plumminess is also commonly detectable, although the variety is more closely related to Mourvedre than Merlot. When overheated, a Barbera vine will produce comparatively flat, dull wines with notes redolent of baked prunes and raisins and the trademark cherry flavors turn towards kirsch.Barbera reaches its zenith in the Piedmont DOCs Barbera d'Asti and Barbera d'Alba, particularly when planted on well-drained slopes with a warm southerly aspect.

Dolcetto is a dark-skinned red wine grape variety whose origins lie in the hills of north-western Italy. Although the variety has successfully made its way to vineyards in the USA (where it was once thought to be the same as Charbono) and Australia, its spiritual home is the Monferrato of Piedmont. It masquerades as Ormeasco in the hills of Liguria (most notably in Pornassio) but its plantings are limited there.

An early ripening grape, Dolcetto produces soft-styled, fruit-driven wines with low acidity, particularly when compared to those made from angular Nebbiolo and tangy Barbera, Piedmont’s two most popular red wine grapes. It is these low acid levels which have earned the vine its name Dolcetto, which means ‘little sweet one’. In fact, very few Dolcetto wines are made in sweet styles, although late harvest Dolcetto is

not unheard-of. To add to weight to the apparent misnomer, Dolcetto has rather pronounced tannins which, if not softened by a short-but-sweet fermentation, can lead to imbalance in the otherwise soft wine style and make it seem anything but 'sweet'.

It is precisely the soft, approachable style in which most Dolcetto is made which has decided the vine's place in the modern wine world; a convenient poor cousin to Barbera and Nebbiolo. Where Nebbiolo and Barbera wines take years to lose their asperity and youthful edges, Dolcetto wines can be made approachable within months of harvest, rather than years. Thus Dolcetto sales provide a buffer zone in the annual winery budget, helping to balance the books and keep things ticking over until the more expensive wines are ready for sale. A similar relationship can be observed between the nouveau and cru wines of Beaujolais.

In the 1990s and into the early 21st century Dolcetto wines have become been made increasingly rich, oaky and alcoholic, presumably to meet the growing consumer demand for powerful wine styles. While this goes against the grain for many traditionalists, the world wine market shows few signs of rebellion against this decidedly New World take on Dolcetto.

There are about ten Piedmont-based appellations dedicated to Dolcetto, the most salient of which are the DOCGs Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba, Dolcetto di Dogliani Superiore (or just Dogliani), Dolcetto di Ovada Superiore (or just Ovada). The best known DOC-level Dolcetto wines come from Alba, Acqui, Asti, and the hills of the Langhe Monregalesi.

A typical Dolcetto wine is intensely, brightly colored (due to the variety’s naturally prevalent anthocyanins) and offers dark, gently spicy aromas with earthy undertones of almonds, or walnuts in more tannic examples. Generally the wines are not designed for long-term cellaring, and should be consumed within three or four years of vintage.

Freisa is a black-skinned grape variety native to the Piedmont wine region of north-western Italy. It is used to make red wines of various styles, from sweet and still to dry and sparkling (both gently fizzing frizzante and tightly frothing spumante)

There are two known kinds of Freisa: small-berried Freisa Piccolo and the more generously-proportioned Freisa Grossa. The precise genetic and thus taxonomic relationship between these two forms remains unconfirmed, but many winemakers and ampelographers do differentiate between the two.

Freisa seems to be rather a polarizing variety. It repels many first timers with its sometimes overbearing tannins, bitter finish and the residual sugar so often used in an attempt to counter these effects. By contrast, many others are entirely seduced

by this character, finding it refreshing and challenging. These opinion-dividing qualities are particularly prevalent in Freisa Piccolo, and result from the grapes’ smaller juice to skin/stalk/pip ratio. Those who like both sweet strawberry-scented Brachetto and tannic, petulant Nebbiolo probably form the mainstay of the Freisa fan base, and can justifiably consider themselves true Piedmontese wine lovers.

Although less common today than other Piedmontese varieties like red Barbera or white Moscato Bianco, at the end of nineteen century Freisa was extremely popular, and confidently the most widely planted variety in the Torino province. Its strong resistance to disease and mildew made it popular back then, particularly post-Phylloxera, when reliable yields and reliable vine health were at the top of most vinegrowers' list of priorities. These qualities should theoretically also make it popular in the vineyards of modern Piedmont, but the region's vignerons (like their equivalents in Burgundy to whom they are so often compared), seem to like a challenge.

Freisa is grown widely around the Monferrato, particularly the Monferrato Casalese. It has two DOCs to call its own, in the form of Freisa d'Asti (100%) and Freisa di Chieri (90-95%) and is also used as a minority component in Gabiano (5%-10%).

Nebbiolo is a black-skinned red wine grape variety most famous for creating the 'tar and roses' scent of Barolo wines from Piedmont, north-western Italy. The grape's very name is evocative of its spiritual home among the misty foothills of the western Alps; the nebbia (Italian for 'fog') after which it is named is that which frequently arrives on early October mornings, when the Nebbiolo harvest is in full swing. Fortunately, most strains of Nebbiolo demonstrate a good resistance to botrytis and although early forms of Barolo were made in a sweet style, this was because of struggling ferments rather than the effects of botrytis. Unfortunately the vine showed little or no resistance to phylloxera when the louse spread its devastation across Europe in the 1860s, and when it came to replanting the Piedmontese vineyards it was higher-yielding Barbera which was the preferred variety.Nebbiolo grapes are at the heart of four Piedmontese DOCGs and eight DOCs, of which Barolo is by far the most famous. Barolo wines are famous for their power and intensity, but just ten miles north-east of Barolo, Nebbiolo is made into Barbaresco, a slightly more elegant, perfumed style which rose to fame in the second half of the 20th century. Different again is Roero, made just across the river Tanaro, north-west of Alba. Here, Nebbiolo is often joined by a splash of white Arneis to soften its tannic edges, a practice which has led the Arneis variety to be dubbed Barolo Bianco. Barbaresco lies only a little lower in the hills than Barolo, with which it shares its chalky clay soils, yet the wines are noticeably different. Slightly different again are the red wines of Valtellina, where the variety is known as Chiavennasca. These wines from the sunny alpine slopes of northern Lombardy may be less rich and round than those from Piedmont, but they are just as alluringly perfumed, particularly the passito, amarone-styled Sforzato di Valtellina. (© All

rights reserved, Wine-Searcher) What all of these wines have in common are noticeable acidity and the tannins for which Nebbiolo is as famous as it is infamous.This sensitivity to terroir is both Nebbiolo's trump card and its downfall. As demonstrated by Pinot Noir, Riesling and (less famously) Chasselas, wine enthusiasts find themselves immediately attracted to a variety which communicates its provenance rather than fading into widespread homogeneity. But where Riesling and (to a lesser extent) Pinot Noir have proven relatively adaptable to various climates and soils types, Nebbiolo has not. It is famously picky about where it grows, requiring good drainage and as long a growing season as is ever possible in sub-alpine Italy. In Piedmont it is generally one of the first vines to flower, and is always the last to ripen, making a dry autumn an essential ingredient in the successful vintages of Nebbiolo wines.Outside Italy Nebbiolo has found a modicum of success in Australia, Argentina and California, but the warmer climates into which it has often been planted in these places have proved too warm for fussy Nebbiolo. Finding sites in which the variety will thrive is an ongoing challenge for New World winemakers eager to replicate the great Nebbiolo wines of Piedmont.As of early 2011, Nebbiolo was used in Piedmont as the major component in four DOCGs (Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero and Gattinara) and eight DOCs (Bramaterra, Fara, Ghemme, Lessona and Sizzano). It goes by the name Spanna in northern and eastern Piedmont and Chiavennasca just across the Ticino river in northern Lombardy.