Alcoholic beverages[edit]
Wine[edit]
Main article: Italian wine
DOCG label on a wine bottle
A bottle of limoncello
Tuscan Chianti in a traditional fiasco.
A bottle of campari
Italy produces the largest amount of wine in the world and is both the largest exporter and consumer of wine. Only about a quarter of this wine is put into bottles for individual sale. Two-thirds is bulk wine used for blending in France and Germany. The wine distilled into spirits in Italy exceeds the production of wine in the entirety of the New World.[74] There are twenty separate wine regions.[75]
Those vineyards producing great wines are trying to do away with the old image of jug wines so often associated with Italian wine. To promote this, the Italian government passed the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) law in 1963 to regulate place of origin, quality, production method and type of grape. The designation Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) is a less restrictive designation to help a wine maker graduate to the DOC level. In 1980, the government created the Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG), reserved for only the best wines.[76]
In Italy wine is commonly consumed (alongside water) in meals, which are rarely served without it,[citation needed] though it's extremely uncommon for meals to be served with any other drink, alcoholic or otherwise.
Beer[edit]
Main article: Beer in Italy
Italy hosts a wide variety of different beers, which are usually pale lager. Beer is not as popular and widespread as wine (even though this is changing, and beer is becoming more and more popular), and average beer consumption in Italy is less than in some other neighbouring European nations, such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. Among many popular brands, the most notable Italian breweries are Peroni and Moretti. Beer in Italy is often drunk in pizzerias, and South Tyrol (German-speaking region) is the area where beer is made and consumed the most.