Italian wines

ddddd <a href="https://www.ivinio.com/en/product-category/italian-wines/en-alto-adige/">Alto-Adige</a> is the second smallest wine region in Italy, just bigger than the Aosta Valley and is located in the northeastern part, just south of the Austrian border. Wine from <a href="https://www.altoadigewines.com/en/home/1-0.html">Alto-Adige</a> is often divided into 2 different areas. The northern South Tyrol, which was part of Austria until the end of the First World War, but  was then linked to Italy in 1919. The Trentino is the southern part of the wine region. Wine from Alto-Adige has been grown in the region since ancient times and was introduced by the Illyrians, a population who lived between the Adriatic coast and the Danube. The Romans then, as in many other places, developed the wine production. In Trentino's southern vineyard area, the local Schiava wine is grown and in northern South Tyrol, it is mainly the Lagrein grape that is cultivated. Chardonnay is the very common white grape variety, used to produce sparkling wine according to the classic method.

ddddd Wine from <a href="https://www.ivinio.com/en/en-ligurie">Liguria</a> comes from the part of Italy which is also known as representing the Italian Riviera. The region stretches from the French border down to Tuscany and is improperly and above all anchored with sun, swimming and holiday. Few know about the excellent and exclusive wines from Liguria. The wine area only covers 5,000 hectares in size and the complex geographical configuration with the Alps that rise straight up from the sea makes the conditions for viticulture extremely difficult. The most widely grown red grape varieties are Rossese and Ormeasco. Pigato and Vermentino are the most common white grape varieties. The exclusive and perhaps most famous Schiacchetrà from <a href="https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/">Cinque Terre</a> are manufactured by Bosco and Albarola. The wine growing is conducted in a close to heroical manner on the high hills above the Cinque Terre. No machines make their way here and everything is done by hand. In Genova we find the Bianchetta Genovese used for the local white wine DOC Valpolcevera. Dolceacqua, close to the French boarder is probably where the best red wine from Liguria (Rossese di Dolceacqua) is made. In Dolceacqua you'll also find the Pigato white wines which are of high quality with good structure.

ddddd <a href="https://www.ivinio.com/en/en-piedmont/">Piedmont</a> is located in the north-eastern part of Italy and is one of Italy 's most prestigious wine regions. Man has cultivated wine here since 500 BCE. The ligurians , who gave its name to the Liguria region that runs along the Mediterranean coast , south of Piedmont, traded wine already with the Greeks. They decided to strengthen the trade through local production in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedmont">Piedmont</a>. The arrival of the Romans was a turning point in both production efficiency and an almost maniacal organization of the vineyards. The Middle Age period on the other hand, meant like for many other wine regions an erosion of the cultivation techniques and winemaking developed.

ddddd Wine from Sicily includes the Mediterranean's largest island, the Aeolian Islands as well as the tiny island of Pantelleria ouside the Tunisian coast. The surface of the Sicilian vineyard is one of the largest in Italy. Not less than 107,000 hectares of vines which represents twice the size in Tuscany! The Sicilian wine has in recent years made significant progress since the focus has shifted from producing volume wines with high alcohol content, to the production of quality wines produced with modern technology. The best known red wine is Nero d'Avola, which is also the name of the grape variety. However, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily">Sicily</a> also has other local grape varieties such as Frappato, Nerello mascalese among the reds and Grillo, Catarratto and Carricante among the whites. "L'Alberello" or "small trees" is the typical Sicilian vine formation. The vines grow like small trees so that they better resist in Sicily's relatively harsh climate. The Sicilian viticulture is very diverse and the more you learn the more there is usually left to learn and to taste ... Altogether there is one wine from Sicily called "Cerasuolo di Vittoria" from Ragusa which has been awarded the DOCG-category. There are then 23 different DOC wines and 7 different IGT wines.

ddddd Wines from Friuli and Veneto come from the northeastern Italy and are among the most prestigious wines in Italy. Veneto itself, is Italy's largest producing wine region. About half of the area is hilly with 20-25% covered by mountains. The climate sets high standards for the wine production since the temperature varies a lot between the cold winters and the hot summers. Both the white and the red wines are of very high quality with local character and made from local grape varieties. In Friuli it is mainly Tokai Friulano which is used for the white wines. Today the grape variety is just called "Friulano" after that Hungary has obtained the right to protect the "Tokai" name for just the Hungarian dessert wine. Verduzzo, Ribolla Gialla and Malvasia are other varieties used for the white wines from Friuli. In Veneto, the Garganega grapes are grown for the Soave wines and also the Trebbiano di Soave which are used for, among others, the Lugana wines. For the red wines, mainly the Pignolo and Refosco varieties are used in Friuli. In Veneto, it might be the prestigious Amarone wines produced from Corvina and Rondinella grapes which are the best known. But there is also the Bardolino and several different Valpolicella wines which are also produced here.