Italy

Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy, which is home to some of the oldest wine-growing regions in the world. Italy is the world’s largest wine producer, with 702,000 hectares (1,730,000 acres) of vineyards and an annual average production of 48.3 million hectoliters of wine from 2013 to 2017. In 2018, Italy accounted for 19% of global production, ahead of France (17%) and Spain (15%). Italian wine is exported worldwide and is also popular domestically among Italians, who consume an average of 42 liters per capita, ranking fifth in global wine consumption.

Etruscan and Greek colonists produced wine in Italy before the Romans established vineyards in the 2nd century AD. The Romans expanded Italy’s vineyard area through efficient viticulture and winemaking methods and introduced large-scale production and storage techniques, such as bottling.