Well, sometimes more than meets the eye - especially when it comes to Italian wine. Just as Italy hosts a mind-boggling array of different grape varieties, there is also something of a free-f0r-all when it comes to putting them on the label. Unlike the U.S. or France, where labeling is strictly regulated, Italian wines might be named for the grape variety, the village or district where the grapes were grown, or even simply for the winemaker. To make matters even more confusing, some wines are named for both the grape and the location.
For example:
- Chianti is not a grape; it is a region in Italy
- Pinot Grigio is a grape best grown in the Friuli and Trentino-Alto Adige regions of Italy
- Moscato D'Asti is both a grape and a region. Moscato (Muscat) is Piedmont's most traditional white-wine grape and Asti is a village northeast of Alba, Italy
Confused? Me too! It's a good thing that what really matters is what's inside the bottle.
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