Wine suggestions?

Are you looking for wine to drink in these cities, or to bring back home with you? Tuscany (arguably of course) has the best wine and food, so you will definitely enjoy your red wine there. If you have enough time in Florence you may want to consider heading out to a winery in the area.

I'm not sure what you consider "moderately priced" but here's a few suggestions (red only of course)... It's difficult to find good wine in Venice that isn't overpriced as it's an island and they don't grow their own so everything is imported. However, the house wine in most Venice restaurants is usually either Valpolicella or cabernet and are very drinkable. If you want to buy red wine in bottles in Venice the 8-10 euro range is a good range to look for. I stick with the varietals to ensure that I'm not paying more for a famous name. Cabernets mostly, as the Veneto and Friuli regions (where Venice gets most of it's vino) produce some very good cabernet. Florence, cripes I could write a book about Florence so I'll try to limit it to a couple suggestions. You have your Big Three: Chianti, Montepulciano and Montalcino. It's easy to find good chiantis in the 5-10 euro range. If you can, try to stick to Chianti Classico which is made with the best grapes of the region. For the other two, look for the Rosso di Montepulciano/Montalcino version rather than the Vino Nobile or Brunello. They are made from the same grapes, just lesser quality and are not aged as long so they are ready to drink sooner and much cheaper. These are some of the best bargains in Italy IMO. Another trick is to buy wines that just use the name of the grape such as Sangiovese or Nebbiolo. It the same grape used in wines such as Brunello or Barolo but much, much cheaper. You find some hidden gems with these often. Some other good, moderately priced options found all over Italy are Nero d'Avola (from Sicily) and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (from Puglia, not to be confused with the one from Tuscany). Last recommendation would be to learn the Italian wine labels if you don't already know them so you know what to look for (Classico, Riserva, IGT, DOCC, etc

Spoke with my Itialian friends in Rome, they said any wine over 7 Euros should be good.

"Spoke with my Itialian friends in Rome, they said any wine over 7 Euros should be good. " Oh, good lord. Price is never an indicator of quality. There are a number of wine bars in Venice that can pipe wine from casks into your (empty) 32 oz soda bottle for a couple of euros. And the wine is good!

Since we are on the topic of wine, here's a question for my fellow wino aficionados. Do restaurants in Italy have a corkage fee and allow you to bring in your own bottle of wine? It's standard in California, but not so much other parts of the US. Then if we are out visiting wineries or wine shops and find wine we really enjoy, it would be bring the bottle to drink with a nice dinner.

"There are a number of wine bars in Venice that can pipe wine from casks into your (empty) 32 oz soda bottle for a couple of euros. And the wine is good!" Very true, this is called "Vino Sfuzo". It's basically wine on tap that the places buy in bulk (in kegs). Most Italians buy their wine this way and reuse their own bottles. We buy most of our wine this way as well, it's not world class quality but for everyday drinking wine it's good and at the place we buy from, it costs a little less than 2 euros per liter. Most places keep empty plastic bottles around for people without glass bottles but you can always use your own if they don't have any. And whatever you do, don't use an empty soda bottle. Use an empty water bottle instead.

Well, a clean empty soda bottle - but, yes, an empty water bottle would be better. Rik - what about the question about corkage? I've never tried to bring wine to a restaurant in Italy because the house wines are usually so good and I don't think restaurants in Italy mark up bottled wine as much as in the U.S.

FWIW, two of my favorite Italian wines are from the Puglia region in the south - Primitivo and Salice Salentino. Nice and full-bodied. They're a lot like the Nero d'Avola from Sicily, mentioned above. There's no shortage of places to buy wine in Italy, as you will quickly discover after arrival. That said, we always just go with the house red wine. You can order half a liter (2/3 of a bottle) by asking for a "mezzo" (pronounced "medsoh"). If you just want a couple of glasses, in many places you can order 1/4 liter (1/3 bottle) by asking for a quarto (not quattro). Sometimes it comes in what looks like a water pitcher. Happy travels.

I think in general, you can't go too wrong with red wine in Italy. We often just drink the house wine, but if we go the bottle route, it probably is best to know a few of the Regions (some were noted for Tuscany) and have an idea of the taste, and more increasingly in Italy, also knowing the grape variety. You could probably browse one of the many wine books and get a short list of each for the region. Venice you could stick with the Veneto region, Florence, Tuscany of course, but in Rome, you can go with just about any region since they seem to be more melting pot than representing the Lazio region. Region and grape variety will be much more handy than trying to nail it down to a vineyard or brand. As for moderate price, there is no consistent rule. Most smaller restaurants with limited wine lists charge a reasonable price for wine, a wine bar type place may charge more for that same bottle, some much more; and of course you probably could get the same bottle in a grocery store for half what the small restaurant charges. We have no problem paying up to 20 euro for a very nice bottle of wine, but most wind up being 10 euro, give or take a few euro. House wine rarely will cost you over 10 euro a liter.

"Rik - what about the question about corkage?" Hard to say, I've never done it myself and have never seen anyone else do it here. I'm guessing it would be slightly frowned upon in most places as this is Italy and wine is so engrained in the culture that pretty much any restaurant you go to will have a decent wine to match whatever is on the menu.

I have never seen it either and would be very reluctant to do so. The wine culture in Italy is very different than the US. There is a very different attitudes towards wine in restaurants. First, the house wine in a restaurant is very good because the owner takes great pride in provide a good quality wine. And that restaurant might have direct ties to a local winery. It could be viewed as an insult to bring your own wine to a restaurant. It is not like a house wine in the US where a cheap wine is served. We have never been disappointed with the house wine in Spain, Italy, or France.

Thanks for the input on the corkage. We'll follow your advice and order from the wine list. We are looking forward to enjoying Italian wines!

Since so many have hit on the reds (which I totally agree with) thought I'd share a white we found in San Gimignano -- Vernaccia is the varietal; so look for Vernaccia di San Gimignano for a nice light, fruity white wine at lunch. A shopkeeper recommended it when we bought an assortment of cheese and meats for a picnic lunch looking out on Tuscany. We liked it so much we're buying it back in the US now about a bottle every other week.

This is a very vague question? There are so many great wines in either of these countries and how do you make someone like what you like? I like to be surprised. Many times the house wine is all you need. But red wine in Venice? Why? Their Suave white wine with fish or shellfish is awesome. Florence; Chianti of course. But their Rosso is cheaper and also served as a house wine. Wine is not about price, but what pairing works best for you. One more thing about house wine is; the restaurant your eating at, might be also owned by the winery . For example in Florence, Cantinetta di Veranzzano serves wine from it's winery. The same goes for Paris, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, etc... and sometimes the house wine is just as good. Tough question and even a tougher to answer, you just have to wing it and be surprised. And yes it sucks when you make the wrong pairing. But come on your on vacation, try something different!

If you like dry reds, try the Brunello di Montalcino when you're in Florence. Any enoteca in Florence should have a reasonable selection of whatever Tuscan wine you're looking for.

Thank you everyone for this discussion. I appreciate all the suggestions and advice. I am looking forward to sampling some wonderful wines in France and Italy. Can't wait! Fondly, Donna

"If you like dry reds, try the Brunello di Montalcino" Quite possibly the best wine in the world...but she said "moderately priced" and you'd be hard pressed to find a decent bottle for less than 30-40 euros. Well worth it to me but certainly not moderately priced.