Italian Wine Grape Guide: 21 Wine Grapes That Grow in Italy

Italy is home to 20 different wine regions. From Valle d'Aosta, Lombardy, and Trentino-Alto Adige at the northern border down to Puglia, Basilicata, and Calabria in the boot of southern Italy to the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, almost every part of the country is home to winemaking tenutas (estates). The geographic differences of the country make for a wide range of grape varieties and wine styles. Italy is home to hundreds of native grape varieties—more than any other country.

Nine types of white wine grapes are most commonly grown in Italy.

1. 1. Pinot grigio: Pinot grigio originated in Burgundy, France, as pinot gris, but it now grows extensively in northern Italy—especially in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Pinot grigio varietal wines tend to be light and crisp.
2. 2. Glera: Glera is a white wine grape variety most famous for its use in prosecco, the sparkling white wine that is Italy's answer to Champagne. Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto are the only two regions that can legally produce prosecco, which must be made with at least 85 percent glera.
3. 3. Trebbiano: There are at least six varieties of trebbiano native to Italy, but trebbiano Toscano, widely planted in central Italy and around the world, is by far the most common. It is a productive grape that produces crisp, light white wines.
4. 4. Verdicchio: Verdicchio is an acidic white grape found mainly in the Marche region of east-central Italy. Traditionally, winemakers used skin-contact methods with Verdicchio grapes. Today, most Cerdicchio wines are produced in the typical white wine style, with skins removed before maceration.
5. 5. Moscato bianco: Moscato bianco is the Italian name for the variety known in France as muscat blanc à petits grains, a light, sweet white wine grape. The Asti province in Piedmont is best known for producing Asti Spumante, a sparkling wine made with Moscato.
6. 6. Cortese: Cortese is a fresh white grape variety grown in Piedmont and typically consumed young.
7. 7. Chardonnay: Chardonnay is a French grape that spread throughout Italy in the 1980s, popular for its use in sparkling wine. Learn more about Chardonnay in our guide here.

Fourteen types of red wine grapes are most commonly grown in Italy.

1. 1. Sangiovese: Sangiovese is Italy's most-planted grape variety. It's widely planted in Abruzzo, where it's commonly shipped out for blending. Sangiovese is also responsible for several famous Tuscan wines: Brunello di Montalcino (DOCG), Rosso di Montepulciano (DOC), and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (DOCG), "Super Tuscan" wines, and Chianti Classico.
2. 2. Montepulciano: Montepulciano is both Italy's second most popular grape variety and the name of a town in Tuscany that produces the famous Sangiovese-based Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The grape is a red variety with high yields, and it grows extensively in Abruzzo. Its strong tannins make it ideal for blending. Learn more about Montepulciano in our complete guide here.
3. 3. Merlot: Although not an Italian grape, French Merlot is the country's third most popular variety. It grows in 14 of Italy's 20 wine regions, though the Merlot grown in northern Italy is considered the best.
4. 4. Dolcetto: Dolcetto is a soft, fruity red grape variety grown only in Piedmont, where it is drunk young as a varietal wine.
5. 5. Nebbiolo: Nebbiolo is a black grape variety that has been famous since the thirteenth century in Piedmont, where quality Barolo and Barbaresco wines are produced.
6. 6. Barbera: Barbera is a high-yield red wine grape variety widely planted in northern Italy. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was the third most-planted red grape in Italy, but its acreage is diminishing. Learn more about Barbera in our complete guide here.
7. 7. Corvina: Corvina is a fruity red wine variety grown in northeast Italy, where it produces both barrel-aged reds and Amarone della Valpolicella, which is made from dried grapes.
8. 8. Nero d'Avola: Nero d'Avola is the most important red wine variety in southern Sicily. It produces a fruity wine with good body that is perfect for barrel-aging or blending with other wines.
9. 9. Rondinella: Rondinella is a high-yield Italian red wine grape variety grown in the Veneto region. Because it is productive but not very flavorful, rondinella is usually blended with other wines.
10. 10. Aglianico: Aglianico is a dark, musty varietal. The Greeks introduced the varietal to Italy well over a thousand years ago, and it continues to dominate production today in Campania and Basilicata. Its best-known expression is in Taurasi and aged Taurasi riserva from Campania.
11. 11. Primitivo: Primitivo is the Italian name for zinfandel (a Croatian grape). In Italy, it's mostly grown in Puglia and can be sold under the name primitivo or zinfandel.
12. 12. Cabernet sauvignon: Cabernet sauvignon was introduced to the Piedmont region during the early nineteenth century. It now grows primarily in Tuscany, where it is a component of the "Super Tuscans," and Sicily.
13. 13. Syrah: Syrah is a relatively recent addition to the Italian wine scene. The French red wine grape gained popularity starting in the 1990s, especially in southern Tuscany.
14. 14. Lambrusco: Lambrusco is both a grape variety and a style of wine that can be blended or varietal. The best known lambruscos are frizzante (lightly sparkling wine) from the Emilia-Romagna region.

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