Italian drinks guide
Italian wine guide
Last updated
Italian wine was made to go with food. Most of it is high in acidity, moderate in alcohol and happiest next to tomato sauce, olive oil, cured meat and cheese. You don't need a cellar or a vocabulary to enjoy it — just a rough idea of which bottles are light, which are big, and what's on the plate. Below is every wine on the site, from everyday table pours to the bottles worth saving, each with its own page on how it tastes and what to serve with it. Larry's rule: drink what grows near the food.
Quick answer
For everyday Italian food, reach for a medium-bodied, high-acid red like Chianti, Barbera or Nero d'Avola — they handle tomato sauce well. A crisp white like Vermentino suit seafood and vegetables, Prosecco and Lambrusco work for aperitivo and antipasti, and big reds like Barolo or Brunello are for rich, slow-cooked meat.
Wine at the Table
What Larry actually pours with dinner
Chianti Classico
Tuscan Sangiovese, dry, high acid
Acidity cuts sausage fat better than anything else on the table.
Barbera d'Asti
Piedmont red, soft tannin, bright cherry
The weeknight red. Forgiving with anything acidic.
Nero d'Avola
Sicilian red, ripe and warm
The one to open when the peppers came off the grill charred.
Vermentino
Coastal white, saline and citrus
Larry's fish wine. Also his “waiting for the grill” wine.
Lambrusco Secco
Sparkling red, dry
Dry Lambrusco — not the sweet stuff from 1978.
Prosecco Superiore
Sparkling white, Glera grape
Buy the Brut for spritzes. The Extra Dry is sweeter despite the name.
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Juicy, soft red, Abruzzo
The best-value red in Italy. Sausage and peppers' house wine.
Primitivo
Ripe, jammy red, Puglia
Grilled sausage loves this. So does Larry.
Valpolicella Ripasso
Baby Amarone, Veneto
Amarone flavor at a Tuesday price.
Pinot Grigio
Crisp, light white, Friuli and Alto Adige
Pick one from Friuli or Alto Adige and it actually tastes like something.
Soave
Almond-mineral white, Veneto
Seafood pasta's best friend.
Aglianico
Structured southern red, Campania & Basilicata
The Barolo of the south. Give it air and a steak.
Dolcetto
Soft, dark, low-acid red, Piedmont
What Piedmontese drink while the Barolo sleeps.
Moscato d'Asti
Sweet, fizzy, 5.5% ABV
Cannoli wine. Also brunch wine. Also 'just one more' wine.
Falanghina
Citrus and blossom, fresh acidity, Campania
Neapolitan seafood pasta's natural partner.
Fiano di Avellino
Hazelnut, honey and pear, full-textured, Campania (Irpinia)
A white with enough body for chicken and pork.
Greco di Tufo
Peach, almond and minerals, firm acidity, Campania (Irpinia)
Clams, mussels, linguine — done.
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
Lemon, green almond, bitter-edged finish, Marche
The bitter-almond finish loves fried food.
Gavi
Crisp, lime and green apple, light, Piedmont
Piedmont's answer to 'what white goes with this?'
Roero Arneis
Pear, almond and herbs, soft acidity, Piedmont (Roero)
Rescued grape, generous wine.
Frascati
Light, lemony, easy-drinking, Lazio
Rome's carafe wine. Order it with cacio e pepe.
Orvieto Classico
Soft, apple and almond, dry, Umbria
Cheap, cheerful, takes every pasta.
Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Dry, mineral, faint bitter almond, Tuscany
Tuscany drinks red, except when it doesn't.
Lugana
Round, citrus and almond, Lombardy and Veneto (Lake Garda)
Lake fish and a Lugana. Life is good.
Ribolla Gialla
Zesty, lean; skin-contact versions are amber and grippy, Friuli Venezia Giulia
Pick the amber one if you're feeling brave.
Friulano
Almond, pear, gently herbal, Friuli Venezia Giulia
Friuli's prosciutto wine — San Daniele and a glass.
Alto Adige Gewürztraminer
Lychee, rose and spice, aromatic, Alto Adige
The only wine that can take hot sausage and win.
Pecorino (wine)
Herbal, citrus, high acid, Abruzzo and Marche
Yes, it's a wine. No, it's not cheese. Pour it with the cheese anyway.
Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
Light, crisp; top bottles are textured and age-worthy, Abruzzo
The everyday white next to Montepulciano.
Grillo
Lemon, herbs, a little salt, Sicily
Tastes like a Sicilian beach lunch.
Etna Bianco
Mineral, lemon peel, racy acidity, Sicily (Mount Etna)
Etna Rosso's white sibling. Just as volcanic.
Vermentino di Gallura
Fuller, saline, herbal, Sardinia
Seafood stew wine with a sea breeze built in.
Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo
Deep cherry-pink, juicy, dry, Abruzzo
Summer sausage and peppers wine. Chill it and go.
Chiaretto di Bardolino
Pale pink, red berries, light, Veneto (Lake Garda)
The aperitivo-hour pink.
Lambrusco di Sorbara
Pale, tart, dry, fizzy, Emilia-Romagna
Mortadella's best friend. Fizz cuts fat.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore
Pear, apple, finer bubbles, Veneto
The upgrade from everyday Prosecco. Same price as a fancy sandwich.
Asti Spumante
Sweet, fully sparkling, grapey, Piedmont
Holiday-table bubbles. Pour with dessert, not dinner.
Langhe Nebbiolo
Rose, cherry and tar, lighter than Barolo, Piedmont
Barolo's personality at a weeknight price.
Roero Rosso
Floral, softer-tannin Nebbiolo, Piedmont (Roero)
Nebbiolo with the edges sanded off.
Grignolino
Pale, peppery, tannic for its color, Piedmont (Asti and Monferrato)
Looks like rosé, bites like red.
Freisa
Raspberry, rose, tangy; sometimes fizzy, Piedmont
Nebbiolo's cheerful cousin.
Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato
Aromatic, rose and spice, soft, Piedmont
Smells like a flower shop, drinks like a red.
Valpolicella Classico
Light, sour cherry, easygoing, Veneto
Pizza red. Slightly chilled.
Bardolino
Very light, red berry, spice, Veneto (Lake Garda)
Red wine for people who drink white.
Teroldego Rotaliano
Dark, juicy, blackberry, Trentino
Alpine red with southern color.
Lagrein
Dark plum, chocolate, soft tannin, Alto Adige
Speck and Lagrein. Mountain dinner sorted.
Schiava
Very light, strawberry and almond, Alto Adige
Chill it. Drink it at lunch. Nap.
Morellino di Scansano
Ripe cherry, soft, sunny, Tuscany (Maremma)
Chianti that spent the summer at the beach.
Rosso di Montalcino
Fresh cherry, younger Brunello style, Tuscany
Baby Brunello. Opens on a Tuesday.
Rosso di Montepulciano
Bright, cherry, easy tannin, Tuscany
Tomato sauce's favorite Tuscan.
Bolgheri Rosso
Ripe, polished, Bordeaux-style, Tuscany (coast)
Steak wine. Larry's grill approves.
Cesanese del Piglio
Red berry, spice, medium body, Lazio
The Roman red nobody outside Rome knows. Yet.
Gragnano
Purple, frothy, dry-to-off-dry red, Campania
Neapolitan pizza's fizzy red. Trust it.
Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio
Smoky, cherry, medium body, Campania (Vesuvius)
A volcano in a glass. With pizza.
Negroamaro
Dark, earthy, gently bitter, Puglia (Salento)
Grilled sausage with a bitter edge — perfect.
Salice Salentino
Ripe plum, spice, soft, Puglia
The red-sauce joint classic.
Cannonau di Sardegna
Warm, red fruit, herbal, Sardinia
Roast pork wine from the island that does roast pork best.
Frappato
Light, floral, strawberry, Sicily (Vittoria)
Chilled red for tuna and summer.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria
Cherry, floral, medium body, Sicily
Sicily in balance — sun and freshness.
Brachetto d'Acqui
Sweet, fizzy red, strawberry and rose, Piedmont
Strawberries, chocolate, and nobody driving far.
The Cellar
Bottles Larry only opens for company
Barolo
Piedmont Nebbiolo, tannic, tar and roses, ages 20+ years
Never open a young Barolo on a whim. Ten years is the polite minimum.
Barbaresco
Nebbiolo again, softer and more perfumed than Barolo
Barolo's more elegant sibling. Drinks well a few years earlier.
Brunello di Montalcino
100% Sangiovese Grosso, five years aged before release
If the label says Riserva, give it another hour and another decade.
Amarone della Valpolicella
Dried-grape Veneto red, rich, 15–16% ABV
This is dessert with a cork in it. One glass is a full course.
Super Tuscan (Sassicaia, Tignanello, Ornellaia)
Bordeaux varieties grown in Tuscany, polished and structured
Broke the rules in the '70s and ended up rewriting them.
Franciacorta Riserva
Lombardy metodo classico sparkling, bottle-aged 60+ months
Italy's answer to Champagne. Pour it in a real glass or don't bother.
Vin Santo Occhio di Pernice
Rare Sangiovese dessert wine, amber and nutty
The bottle that comes out when nobody wants to leave yet.
Taurasi
Age-worthy Aglianico, Campania
Southern Italy's answer to Barolo. Pour it for people who think the south can't do serious.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Elegant Tuscan Sangiovese
Not the same as Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Larry learned this at full volume.
Etna Rosso
Volcanic, silky red, Sicily
Tastes like Pinot Noir that moved to a volcano.
Trentodoc
Mountain traditional-method sparkling
Italy's other great bubbly. Ferrari is the famous one — the wine, not the car.
Gattinara
Firm, mineral, elegant Nebbiolo, Northern Piedmont
Northern Piedmont's secret. Ask for it by name.
Ghemme
Structured, savory, age-worthy, Northern Piedmont
Gattinara's neighbor and rival.
Carmignano
Structured, cherry and cassis, Tuscany
The original Cabernet-Sangiovese. Before it was cool.
Sagrantino di Montefalco
Very tannic, dark, powerful, Umbria
Bring something fatty. And a friend.
Marsala Superiore
Nutty, dried fruit; dry to sweet, Sicily
Not just for chicken Marsala. Sip the good stuff.
Passito di Pantelleria
Apricot, honey, dried fig, Sicily (Pantelleria)
Cannoli and this. That's the whole review.
Recioto della Valpolicella
Sweet red, cherry jam and chocolate, Veneto
Amarone's sweet grandparent. Chocolate cake time.
Pair them with Italian antipasti, aperitivo hour or sausage and peppers.
Questions people ask
What Italian wine goes with sausage and peppers?
A medium-bodied, fruity red with good acidity — Chianti, Barbera or Nero d'Avola all work well.
What wine goes with tomato sauce?
High-acid reds match the acidity of tomatoes. Sangiovese-based wines such as Chianti are the classic choice.
Is Prosecco a wine?
Yes. Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine, usually dry or off-dry, and the base of the spritz.
Do I need an expensive bottle for Italian food?
No. Plenty of everyday Italian table wines pair beautifully with home cooking; save the bigger bottles for special roasts and braises.
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