Italian
Wine Classification
In
Italy almost 60 millions of hectoliters of wine are produced
each year
(1 hectoliter = 100 liters).
Italians
wines span over an impressive variety of tastes and perfumes,
that includes superb wines, good quality wines and honest wines
to be served in less formal occasions.
Recently,
the Italian wines classification has been updated, and the IGT
(Indicazione geografica tipica) class has been introduced.
The
Italian wines classes are:
D.O.C.G.:
only 13 wines deserve the classification Denominazione di Origine
Controllata e Garantita (Certification
of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin).
The
acronym designates the production area. D.O.C.G. wines should
have outstanding characteristics strictly related to a particular
climate, natural environment, culture and should be produced
following extremely rigid procedures. D.O.C.G. wines should
have been classified D.O.C. for at least 5 years, and should
overcome those wines not only in quality, but also for their
cultural and historical relevance, and should be recognized
nationally and internationally. It is impossible to sell them
in bottles or containers bigger than 5 liters, and are characterized
by a State Authority seal.
I.G.T.: 121 wines in Italy
are classified as Indicazione Geografica Tipica (Typical
Geographic Indication)
for a total of 25 millions hectoliters
each year. The acronym is obviously related to the production
area. Also those wines production procedures are coded
and documented.
D.O.C.: in Italy 257 Denominazione
di Origine Controllata
(Certification of Controlled Origin)
wines are produced. As for D.O.C.G. wines,
the acronym designates a production area whose wines have
strong peculiarities related to climate, natural environment,
local culture and, of course, an outstanding quality. Even
D.O.C. wines production should follow strict procedures.
VINO DA TAVOLA: this
is the classification for the other 25 millions of hectoliters
of wine produced each year in Italy.
