Italian Wines

Lately I have been drinking a little bit of Italian red wine and thoroughly enjoying it. But I know nothing about it, I was hoping someone could give some general info about Italian wines and give me some recommendations.

Thanks all!

Guess you can start from here : http://www.italianmade.com/wines/home.cfm
wine is produced about everywhere in Italy.
The problem then will be finding which are available near you.
Unfortunately i have a very limited knowledge about wines,in my family we drink mostly wines from Friuli or Veneto: Cabernet franc, Malbeck, Refosco, Merlot, Tocai, Verduzzo,Traminer Aromatico,Pinot grigio. These are everyday wines drinked during meals,of good quality and reasonably priced,about 3 to 6 euro for a bottle, 2 euro a litre in bulk.
Suppliers in ascending price order, MarioStival/Moletto (bulk), Cantina sociale di Rauscedo , Azienda agricola Plozner , Emilio Bulfon.

I must admit I stick to 2 red and 2 white Italian wines, the reds being Barola, Chianti and the whites being Frascati and Soave
Whilst holidaying in Italy every region and town seems to have it's own wine, some are awful but the majority are superb. The only problem is they don't export it!!

I've had Amarone and think it is quite foul and bitter, and definitely not worth 250 a bottle.

Call me a plebeian, but I'm quite happy with a glass of Chianti.

A couple of the flavors that I like are Sangiovese & Valpolicella. They are great with any Italian cuisine (and alot of others too) -- antipasto, grilled meats, pastas.

Prior to my secound trip to Scicily I read up on Italian wines so I could avoid the deer in headlights feeling of my first trip. One of the best things I learned was that Old world wines are classed by regions, unlike new world wines that are classed by the variety of grape. Chianti is an area of Tuscany, and Chianti is made primarily from the Sangiovese grape. Chianti is further sub-divided into areas like Chianti Classico, Chianti Rufina, and more. The sub-division is an indication of higher quality.
Brunello di Montalcino is an area surronded by Chianti, and is made from the Brunello clone of the Sangiovese grape (that is the wine I was told to look for) One of the things that I was told to look for is the little pink sticker up around the top of the neck that reads DOCG. Italian wine laws group wine into three catagories abriviated IGT typical table wine, DOC a mid grade wine, and DOCG an apex wine. These are not always an promises of quality but can give you an indication. There are some wines made in Tuscany in the French style and carry the IGT classification, but are phenominal wines and priced like it. Barolo is one of the wines that seems to be popular at the moment, I can't remember what grape it is made from. Barolo is an area of Peidmont in northern Italy, very good wines.
Some of my favorites are Niozzano Chianti Rufina, Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino, Da Vinci Chianti Classico, Tommasi Amarone, and Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio. I hope I've helped you a little.
Doug

xChris said:

A couple of the flavors that I like are Sangiovese & Valpolicella. They are great with any Italian cuisine (and alot of others too) -- antipasto, grilled meats, pastas.

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These are some of my favs as well. Also, montepulciano (sp?) is similar and quite nice.

For Chianti, look for the DOCG label on the cap and you can't go wrong, regardless of price.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOCG

RichGem said:

These are some of my favs as well. Also, montepulciano (sp?) is similar and quite nice.

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Absolutely -- I forgot to mention that one as well.