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Wine has been made in Italy for three thousand years, so it is hardly surprising that the Italians are very enthusiastic about wine and vineyards. Furthermore, Italy is the only country in the world where wine is produced in all regions of the country.
Tuscany is famous for its beautiful landscapes (the incomparable Tuscan Hills!) the unrivaled cultural history of its major cities - Florence, Leghorn (Livorno), Carrara, Pisa, Sienna - and its most famous wine, Chianti. This magnificent region in the northwest of the Italian peninsula, is bounded in the south by Latium, and is the second biggest wine-growing area of Italy, with an annual production of 110 million gallons. There is only one real Chianti-producing district, the 172,970 acres between Florence and Sienna. Real Chianti has the "Classico" on the label. Chianti Classico has a D.O.C.G., the highest distinction that can be granted to Italian wine. Chianti is made in an area of steep hills covered with vines and cypresses, whose fortified villages are a legacy from the battles between the Florentines and Siennese. The Chianti League was formed in 1376, to protect the local inhabitants from incursions from Sienna. If Chianti is such an outstanding wine it is due to the soil on which it is grown. If a Chianti is well-produced , it is heady, tannic and powerful. The aroma of violets and liquorice comes from the soil, which is a mixture of schistic clay, sand and stones covered with a layer of limestone. Chianti is 80% Sangiovese to give it body and a bouquet supplied by 5% Canaiolo. Trebbiano and Malvasia are added to lighten the color and Colorino gives it brilliance.
In 1919, the treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye made this region a part of Italy. For centuries it had been a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Carnic Alps are to the north and serve as the frontier with Austria, the Julian Alps and the Gulf of Trieste are to the south-east, and the Yugoslav border is to the east. This tiny mountainous region has a mild climate and produces the astronomical amount of 22 million gallons of wine annually. Almost every grape variety is grown on its terrain. The wines are mainly varietal. In general, wines from this region name the grape variety on the label.
The vineyards of Veneto nestle between the Venetian Alps, the plain of the Po and Lake Garda. The wines are sufficiently attractive and fresh to be appreciated throughout the world. Veneto is the third largest wine-producing region of Italy, with an output of 187 million gallons of wine a year. Most of the vines are grown between Verona and Venice, with a tendency to concentrate around the shores of Lake Garda, the Italian Riveria. There are four well-know Venetian wines. They are Soave, Valpolicella, Bardolino and Amarone.
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean. It lies south-west of the Italian peninsula and is separated from Calabria on the mainland by the Straits of Messina. Sicily owes its name to its first inhabitants, the Siculi who were of Asian origin. With its magnificent beaches and vegetation, hills and mountains covered with olive trees and vines, the great plain of Catania dominated by the volcanic Mount Etna, Sicily is doubtless the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean. Sicily has changed hands many times, from the Phoenicians as early as the 8th century BC to the Italians in the 19th century. It is thus a museum of European culture and since Greek times it has been a land of vines. They cover an area of 222,309 acres and produce 198 million gallons per year.
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