Most people probably see Italy as a red wine country. That is why the numbers are so surprising. 57% of Italian wine production is white wine. Prosecco and pinot grigio, the enormous successes of recent years in northern Italy, are of course one reason. But ten out of Italy’s twenty wine regions produce more than 50% white wine.
The prosecco regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia are the leading stars of white wine with 80% and 77% white, respectively. Trentino-Alto Adige, with its pinot grigio, makes just over 70% white.
But even in several of the more southerly regions, white wine dominates. In Lazio and Liguria 70% is white, in Le Marche, Emilia Romagna and Apulia almost 55% and in Sicily nearly 60%. The 5 top white grapes in Italy:
- Glera, 27 000 hectares
- Pinot Gris, 25 000 ha
- Catarratto Bianco, 21 000 ha
- Trebbiano Toscano, 21 000 ha
- Chardonnay, 20 000 ha
Statistics from OIV and italianwinecentral.
