Some wonderful wines to try from southern Italy

This week I want to tell you a little about the wines of Southern Italy. I use the word ‘little’ advisedly as you could write several books about the subject taking it region by region.

Virtually every nook and cranny on the Italian peninsula is used to grow grapes and has been since at least the third century BCE. Each year Italy competes with France on who has made the most wine, with Spain also in the running. Currently Italy is in the lead (according to figures from 2015) at 49 million hectolitres which is around 7 billion bottles made from 377 known grape varieties (France has just 204 named varieties).

Most of us know the wines of the north and centre (Valpolicella, Soave, Barolo, Chianti, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo), but learning a little more about the South will be hugely rewarding. Like the rest of the country Southern Italy has a bewildering range of Demoninazione (DOP), sometimes with just a small handful of producers. Don’t be put off by unfamiliar names and in general if an importer has taken the trouble to source wine from one of these regions there is usually a quality reason, as obscure wine remains a difficult sell in brand-conscious Ireland.