A Quick Guide to Understanding Italian Wine Classification

Italian wine is like Italian politics; it’s complicated, barely understood by the rest of the world, and often breaks its own rules. It is also delicious and diverse.

From the fragrant whites of the north, to the sun drenched reds of the south, Italian wine is pure pleasure on the tongue. That is as long as you know what you’re looking for.

So where to start? Let’s start where we normally start; with the ABC’s, or rather the DOCG’s DOC’s, and IGT’s. The Italian system of classifying wines can be described as a pyramid with DOCG being at the top.

• DOCG (Denomination of Origin Controlled and Guaranteed)

DOCG, Denomination of Origin Controlled and Guaranteed, was first applied in 1990. There are 33 DOCG’s in Italy, the largest amount hailing from Piedmont in the north. Each DOCG has its own rules and regulations that a producer must meet in order to get the coveted pink and green labels proclaiming its own authenticity. Pink labels for red wines, and green for white. The rules always include specifications on where the grape comes from, the soil it’s grown in and a limitation on the yield of production. They also often include rules about aging, bottling, and the wine making process. Some of my favorite DOCG wines include Barolo, Amarone, Chianti, and Chianti Classico for reds, and Gavi, and Greco di Tufo for whites. I feel I must also note that just because these wines are at the top of the pyramid does not necessarily mean they are always the most interesting, or the best of all the Italian wines. They are simply guaranteed to be produced in certain ways. I also am sad to report that does cheating takes place when it comes to the rules, numerous articles on the subject were in Italian newspapers last winter. I think it is best to look for smaller, more traditional producers if you want to be more sure.

• DOC (Denomination of Origin Controlled)

The next level down on the pyramid is DOC; Denomination of Origin Controlled. There are over 300 DOC’s throughout Italy. The rules are about the same as DOCG except slightly more relaxed and they often include larger areas. Sometimes they are extended productions of a DOCG; when a DOCG is limited in its yield the extra wine or grapes are often made into a DOC, usually the aging process is just a bit shorter and the price a little lower. Good examples of this situation are Rosso di Montalcino instead of Brunello, Rosso di Montepluciano instead of Vino Nobile, and Valpolicella instead of Amarone. I love these three wines because they give you all the characters of the DOCG’s but they are younger and easier to drink, more appropriate for a broad range of foods. You can recognize DOC wines by the words Denominazione di Origine Controllata written directly on the bottle’s label.

• IGT (Typical Geographical Indication)

The third pyramid tier is the IGT category. IGT stands for Typical Geographical Indication, and is a very loose category. IGT was first introduced in 1997 as a way of giving importance to wines that weren’t necessarily traditional to Italy. The famous Super Tuscans are now IGT’s, before they were in the Table Wine category (see below), this has promoted the innovation and creation of new interesting wines, using international grapes that aren’t allowed in the DOCG, and DOC categories. The results of these wines have been varied. Some are the most expensive wines in Italy such as the famous Tignanello and Sassicaia from the Bolgheri region of Tuscany, but many are cheap wines a step up from the bottom of the heap; good for every day drinking. An IGT wine will say IGT on the label.

• Table wine

The bottom of the pyramid is the Vino di Tavolo, or Table wine. These are wines produced in bulk specifically for the everyday needs of Italian wine drinkers. They are the house wines of trattoria’s, and the large bottled wines in the markets. They are cheap, and easy to drink. Sometimes they are good, sometimes bad, and usually you can’t be sure of where or when they came from. The bottle’s label only needs to say the region it was bottled in, the amount of alcohol, “do not litter”, and the amount of wine in the bottle. No vintage necessary. Drink these wines with low expectations, though it is possible you may stumble upon something spectacular.

There is no way to know without doing the dirty little job of drinking!

Photo of Italian wine bottles by Fiona Lapham

Topic:  Restaurants & Food | 1 Comment
Tags:  Italy, Tuscany, wine

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About the author

Fiona Lapham is married to an Italian and lives in a small town in Italy just outside of Florence. She has a BA in Anthropology and Writing, and a 2-year degree in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of Florence. She loves living under the Tuscan sun though she often finds the hilarity, instead of the romance, to be Italy’s most exciting offering.