Italian wines are complex but interesting, so let’s look at some fun facts you may not already know.

1. Italians aren’t as strict when it comes to rules.

If you know anything of French wine, you may be familiar with the appellation controls the French use which place very strict guidelines on regions to produce authentic wines that are of the highest quality. Italy is a bit more relaxed. Many of their varieties are grown in several different regions, if not all over the country. It’s still an official Italian wine and can still be of excellent quality, even if it has slightly different characteristics than all the others.

2. Wines from Italy are named esoterically.

Very few Italian wines are known around the world. Esoteric wines are less common, but not necessarily more exclusive. Again, unlike French wines, Italian wines that you can only find in Italy are often just as affordable as more common varieties. They simply maintain a low profile with unique tastes.

3. Different names for the same wine are marked by distinct regions.

The reason you may find so many different names for one wine throughout Italy is that Italy wasn’t a unified country until 1861. Many of the regions still maintain their own distinct identifying characteristics and insist on calling their form of the same wine by a different name.