Italy

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

Etruscans and Greek colonists produced wine in Italy before the Romans planted their own vineyards in the 2nd century AD. The Romans greatly increased Italy's wine-growing area using efficient viticulture and winemaking methods and pioneered large-scale production and storage techniques such as barrel-making and bottling.