REGIONS

Veneto

Toscana (Tuscany)

Friuli

Veneto

Veneto is a wine region in north-eastern Italy, one of a group of three highly productive Italian regions known collectively as the Tre Venezie (after the Venetian Republic), which is a large area comprised today of the Italian regions of Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Alto Adige, and Trentino, and Veneto. The Veneto is the biggest Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) producer of the three. Although the Tre Venezie collectively produces more red wine than white, the Veneto region produces more whites under DOC and is home to the Soave and Prosecco wines.

Veneto is the 8th largest region of Italy in landmass, and a population of 4,371,000 ranks it 6th in that regard. It has over 90,000 hectares (220,000 acres) of vineyards, of which 35,400 are acclaimed DOC. Annual production totals 8,500,000 hectolitres, 1,700,000, or 21% of which is DOC, making it the biggest DOC producer in Italy.

Within The Veneto alone there are 28 DOCs and 14 DOCGs, eight of which share territory with bordering regions, making The Veneto the largest wine-producing region in the country.

Toscana (Tuscany)

Located in central Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast, Tuscany is home to some of the world’s most notable wine regions. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are primarily made with Sangiovese grape whereas the Vernaccia grape is the basis of the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Tuscany is also known for the dessert wine Vin Santo, made from a variety of the region’s grapes. Tuscany has thirty-three Denominazioni di origine controllata (DOC) and eleven Denominazioni di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). In the 1970s a new class of wines known in the trade as “Super Tuscans” emerged. These wines were made outside DOC/DOCG regulations but were considered of high quality and commanded high prices.

Tuscany is the most enduringly famous of all Italian wine regions, thanks to the romantic glamor of its endless rolling hills, cypress-lined country roads and hilltop villages. But even without all of this, evaluated on the merits of its wines alone.

Friuli

Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine (or Friuli wine) is wine made in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Once part of the Venetian Republic and with sections under the influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for some time, the wines of the region have noticeable Slavic and Germanic influences. There are 11 Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) and 3 Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia area. The region has 3 Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) designations Alto Livenza, delle Venezie and Venezia Giulia. Nearly 62% of the wine produced in the region falls under a DOC designation.

The Friuli-Venezia Giulia region is bordered by the Alps to the north separating it from Austria. Slovenia borders the region on the east and the Italian region of Veneto forms the western border and part of the southern border with the Adriatic Sea.