Calabrian wine

Calabrian wine (Italian: Vino Calabrese) is Italian wine from the Calabria region of southern Italy. Over 90% of the region's wine production is red wine, with a large portion made from the Gaglioppo grape. Calabria has 12 Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regions, but only 4% of the yearly production is classified as DOC wine. The region is one of Italy's most rural and least industrialized with per capita income less than half of the national average. Following World War II, many of Calabria's inhabitants emigrated to Northern Italy, the United States, Australia and Argentina. Those left behind have been slow to develop a vibrant wine industry with only the red wines of Cirò garnering much international attention. Today Calabrian wines are mostly produced to high alcohol levels and sold to co-operatives who transfer the wines to the northern Italian wine regions to use as blending component. There are no Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) regions, but Calabria does have 12 Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) designations. The region of Calabria was first cultivated by the Oenotrians, and then by the ancient Greeks. The Greek athlete Milo of Croton was from this region and was reported to drink of Ciró wine each day. Tradition has that the wine is still made in the same way today as it was in Milo's time. During the 1st century AD, Pliny the Elder included Calabrian wine in his listings of quality Italian wines. Calabria is located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula and is characterized by its Mediterranean climate. To the north is the Apennine Mountains forming the border with Basilicata. The Ionian Sea forms the eastern and southern borders followed by the Strait of Messina (separating Calabria from Sicily) and Tyrrhenian Sea forming the western border. The winters are mild, with average temperatures around 10°C, rarely dropping below 5°C. The climate near the coast is very hot and dry throughout most of the year. The majority of the region's wine production takes place in the central areas of the eastern and western coastlines.