What is the best way to begin exploring Italian red wines?
Start with red wines from Southern Italy and then to work your way north. We say this because we believe the best way to understand wines in general is to start with New World wines, which tend to be more fruit-driven and accessible, before drinking classic wines from the Old World, which tend to be more austere, higher in tannins and acidity, and therefore more difficult to understand and appreciate.Well-made red wines from southern Italy, such as those made from nero d’avola, primitivo, or aglianico grapes, tend to be similar in style to New World wines for a couple of reasons. First, the climate in Southern Italy is much like that in California’s wine-producing regions, which leads to similar ripeness and fruitiness in the wine. Second, in recent years in Southern Italy there has been a significant shift toward New World-style winemaking, which yields wines that in many ways are stylistically similar to California wines, though still distinctly Italian in character.Once you are comf
