Barolo Red (Piedmont)
From the Nebbiolo grape. Same say that Barrel is one
of the best reds in the world. Drink it three years old at least (four years for a reserve), it has a memorable nose an flavour.

Bardolino  Red (Veneto)
Bardolino is a pale red with an almost rose shimmering light. It has a delicate bouquet and is slightly fruity. Choose young wine (no more than a year old).
Best producers: Ca Furia, Colle dei Cipressi, Fratelli Poggi, Girasole, Lamberti Le Tende and Santi.

Chianti Red (Tuscany)
Chianti is the name of a huge family of wines with a number of rich and poor relations. Chianti is a blend of grapes mostly red with a small proportion of white.
The young wines are reliably of better quality.
The best are labelled as classico or riserva which
means that the wine has been aged for a minimum
of three years.

Soave White (Veneto)
Soave from Verona ranks second only to Chianti in importance as a DOC wine. It is a refreshing, versatile dry white wine that goes well with any summertime meal. The Classico is slightly stronger than the ordinary Soave. Drink it young and choose wines from a well-known producer like Bolla or Bertani.

Lambrusco Red or White (Emilia Romagna)
Lambrusco is the most popular wine in the world, selling annually over 132 million bottles. An enterprising wine producer decided to market it outside Italy by reducing its alcohol content to little more than beer, an sweetening it considerably. The resulting sweet, slightly fizzy wine took off like a rocket and today lines supermarket shelves the world over. In Emilia Romagna the Lambrusco you can buy is the original version, an excellent, dry, slightly tart wine produced to complement the region's cuisine. It bears no resemblance whatsoever to the exported variety.
                                                              
Orvieto White (Umbria and Lazio)
Orvieto may be a best seller but it is nothing very special. Its vineyards have been grossly exploited and overproduced, resulting in either a dry (labelled secco
on the bottle) almost neutral wine, or the rather more individual sweet or abboccato version.
The best, the Classico comes from the vines nearest to the town of Orvieto itself, and it will have a DOC status after its name.

Valpolicella Red (Veneto)
You can recognise a Valpolicella by its rich luminous ruby red colour. It smells fruity and is best drunk young. It may be chilled. The exported version has a lot less character. Look for wines produced by Allegrini, Bolla,
Le Ragose, Giuseppe Quintarelli, Sanperetto and Tedeschi.

Verdicchio White (Marche)
Verdicchio is instantly recognisable by its slim green amphora shaped bottle.
You will see them on any restaurants along the Adriatic. The wine is straw coloured and has a delicate smell and a full robust body that goes well with fish dishes.
There are two sorts: Castelli di Jesi and the Matelica which is fuller, heavier and has its alcohol content.
Look for wines produced by Fazi-Brunory (who designed the bottle) and M.Brun.


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