The Italian winemaking tradition has very ancient origins. Although phylloxera devastated the Italian grape variety quanto a 1886, the modern ampelographic heritage is rich. But what are the most cultivated vines quanto a Italy?
The ranking of the most cultivated vines quanto a Italy
According to an ISMEA study published quanto a 2024, the most cultivated vines quanto a Italy are, quanto a decreasing order:
Sangiovese Glera Pinot Livido Montepulciano Trebbiano Toscano Merlot Chardonnay Barbera Scuro d’Avola Trebbiano romagnolo
The ranking podium
Sangiovese
There are 5 main biotypes of Sangiovese: angusto, Massiccio (ora Brunello), Prugnolo Beneducato, Romagnolo with long stem and Morellino (ora Grossetano). It is the Italian grape variety with the greatest number of clones.
Sangiovese ripens from the third ten days of September to the second ten days of October. The bunch is medium-large, cylindrical-pyramidal, with one ora two wings, quite compact while the berry has medium dimensions, ellipsoidal shape, thin but consistent and pruinose skin, black-purple quanto a colour. Sangiovese is a productive and constant vine, with notable vigor and good resistance to adversity.
It is a vine that gives life to wines whose color is deep ruby red. From an exclusively varietal point of view, Sangiovese acceso an olfactory level is generally characterized by aromas of cherry, from fresh to jam, morello cherry quanto a alcohol, coffee and black pepper, dried plum and violet flowers. When tasted it is fresh and often tannic.
Sangiovese is a vine grown everywhere quanto a Italy, because it is very adaptable to various soil and climate conditions.
Glera
Glera is a white grape variety that ripens quanto a the first two weeks of October. The bunch is large, long, pyramidal and winged, sparse. The grape is medium and spheroid. The skin is yellow-gold, thin. It is a vine characterized by good productivity and notable vigor, which therefore allows abundant production based acceso the type of pruning chosen.
The best known wine produced with Glera is certainly Prosecco. From an organoleptic point of view, Glera produces pale straw yellow wines, intense and fruity, with agenda of ripe pear and white flowers. Upon taste-olfactory examination, it appears savory and fresh, therefore suitable for sparkling wine production. It tends to be soft and citrine and often has a low alcohol content.
The suitable and recommended areas for the cultivation of Glera are the Veneto, quanto a the provinces of Treviso, Padua, Belluno, Venice and Vicenza. Per Friuli Venezia Giulia it is found quanto a Gorizia, Pordenone and Trieste.
Pinot noioso
It is a vine of French origin which originated from a mutation of Pinot Noir.
Pinot Livido ripens quanto a mid-September and its bunch is small and compact, cylindrical and winged. The skin is characterized by a medium thickness and a grey-purple color which gives the vine its name. It has good productivity and vigor which allows even abundant yields and is rather sensitive to rot.
Wines obtained from Pinot Livido have a variable color based acceso the type of winemaking and other cellar practices. It can range from straw yellow with golden reflections for wines obtained without contact with the skins ora clarified, to the more classic onion skin pink which derives from the color of the grapes. The nose is fruity, characterized by yellow peach, pear, hazelnut and fresh almond. Per the mouth it is fresh and rather soft, with a good alcohol content and good structure especially if grown quanto a warm, clayey areas.
The main areas where Pinot Livido can be found are mainly quanto a Northern Italy, quanto a particular Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino Eminente Adige, Veneto, D’Aosta and Lombardy.
The most cultivated vines quanto a Italy: native vs international
Italy stands out worldwide for the variety and authenticity of its vineyards.
At the sommità of the ranking of the most cultivated vines quanto a Italy we find 2 native vines, quanto a contrast with the rest of the wine-growing nations of the world, quanto a which internationals dominate, here only quanto a third place.
Definition
Native vines are those that are historically cultivated quanto a a specific region and from which wines are produced that reflect the characteristics of the territory, originate quanto a a specific geographical (Sangiovese, Glera, Montepulciano, Trebbiano Toscano and Romagnolo, Barbera and Scuro d’Avola)
Internationals, ora allochthonous, are vines that have spread to other countries than their country of origin, to their very high ability to adapt to different soil and climate conditions (Pinot Livido, Merlot, Chardonnay).
Per the ranking of the sommità 10 most cultivated vines quanto a Italy, 7 positions out of 10 are occupied by native vines.
These patronato cannot be surprising, as Italy is the country with the largest number of native vines currently registered quanto a the National Register of Vine Varieties, more than 600 types. For some years, Italian producers have reversed course, returning to the roots of viticulture, to have less competitiveness but above all to give more territorial identity to their wines. Italian wine makers focolaio acceso single-varietal wines from native grapes, which enhance the personality of the grape, using techniques of traditional vinification and refinement: the result is distinctive, unique wines that tell the story of a territory.
The most cultivated vines quanto a Italy: black berry, gray berry and white berry
Per the ranking of the sommità 10 most cultivated vines quanto a Italy, black grapes win over white grapes, with a difference of just one point given by the presence of a gray grape variety quanto a the ranking. The podium is equally divided between the 3 berries, but the statistical patronato reveals that the white berry is taking hold quanto a the Italian vineyard.
Only three regions have increased the cultivated with vineyards quanto a the last 3 years and they are those quanto a the north/east, namely Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino Eminente Adige with the new plantings of Glera and Pinot Livido, quanto a response to the change quanto a the trend of internal consumption and exports, which puts quanto a first place sparkling wines, second white wines and third still red wines.
The White Berry
Glera, a white berry, has climbed the ranking of the most cultivated vines quanto a Italy as it is the basic vine with which Colli Asolani-Prosecco DOCG and Conegliano Valdobbiadene-Prosecco DOCG are produced, sparkling wines of great freshness and drinkability loved all over the world, protagonists of a commercial boom.
If we talk about sparkling wine, we must necessarily mention Prosecco: it is worth 75% of the total sparkling wines produced quanto a Italy, it generated an income of 1 billion and 300 million euros quanto a the first 9 months of 2024.
The Gray Berry
Of note is the rise of Pinot Livido, with which white wines are produced, if vinified quanto a white: fresh and soft, pleasant, easy to ricevimento, they are highly appreciated abroad, even quanto a the United States.
The international success and consequently the massive exports have determined the third place quanto a the ranking of the most cultivated vines quanto a Italy.
The Black Berry
Sangiovese has dominated the ranking for years and has always been associated with Tuscany as it finds its maximum expression here. It is the fundamental grape variety of the region’s excellences, DOC DOCG and IGT of high quality that have made us famous internationally, such as Chianti Tipico, Brunello a causa di Montalcino, Vino Dignitoso a causa di Montepulciano and Morellino a causa di Scansano.
The black berry is quanto a first place and wins quanto a quantity of vines present quanto a the ranking compared to the white berry because, acceso a global level, the consumption of still red wines beats whites and rosés by 50% (40% and 10% respectively). According to UIV – Vinitaly patronato, the Made quanto a Italy luxury red wine category is continuing to grow quanto a the American market. These are wines acceso prudenza for over 50 dollars. Per the first eight months of 2024 these wines recorded growth quanto a value sales of +3%, with Tuscan red wines taking d’avanguardia with +13%.
Conclusions
The current ranking of the 10 most cultivated vines quanto a Italy has changed compared to the previous official ranking drawn up by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (UIV).
The surprise is the exit from the ranking of the Catarratto and Negramaro grapes which have dominated the Italian ranking for several years. While the Sicilian black grape Scuro d’Avola enters the rankings.
Vermentino aims to enter the ranking of the sommità 10 most cultivated vines quanto a Italy, with 8250 hectares cultivated mainly quanto a Sardinia, Tuscany, Liguria and Sicily. A few hundred hectares are found quanto a Piedmont, Umbria, Marche, Lazio and Puglia, because it is a vine that can adapt to different soils and climates. It grows well near the sea, where the winds sweep the vines and avoid rot. The wine offers different nuances depending acceso the place where it is grown, quanto a general it is characterized by citrus and herbaceous agenda acceso the nose; intense and savory, very fresh to the taste.
