Italy, known by the Greeks as "Enotria" (Land of Wine) is home to an astounding 2,000 indigenous grape varietals. The diversity of Italian wine styles and names is mind boggling and fascinating for the wine lover. Perhaps the best-known wine from the Italian Peninsula, to foreigners, is Chianti. Who hasn't used one of the straw covered flasks as a candleholder during their college years? Luckily, Chianti these days tastes a lot better than the stuff we drank in college, particularly in Chianti Classico. Chianti comes from the greater region of Toscana, or Tuscany, famed for top producers such as Antinori, and wine styles such as Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Verniacca di San Ginignano and "Super Tuscans".

Italian cuisine is incredibly rich in variety, from the piquant flavors seen in the gastronomy of Naples and Calabria, the Pesto dishes of Liguria to the creamy cheece and risotto dishes of the Italian Alps. Apart from the Chinese, the Italians have got to be the people to have brought their phenomenal cuisine and wines to the highest amount of locations across the planet. You can find "Trattorias", "Osterias", "Enotecas" (Wine Bars) and "Pizzerias" everywhere from Los Angeles to London. Prosciutto, Parma Ham, Balsamic Vinegar, Funghi Porcini, Parmiggiano, Provolone, Mascarpone, and Tiramisu are all uniquely Italian. Chianti wine, Barolo, Prosecco, Frascati, and Marsala, as well. Lest us not forget the endless shapes, colors and flavors of pasta, from taglioni to pappardelle, ravioli to bucatini. The gastronomic diversity is fabulous, varying from rich tomato and seafood based dishes from Sicily to spicy ham dishes from Calabria to heavy cheese Risotto (rice) dishes from Trentino and the Alps. Classic Italian dishes are known virtually everywhere, including Spaghetti Carbonara, Spaghetti Bolognese, Ossobucco and Ravioli ai Cuattro Formagi. What foreigners see as “Italian food”, to Italians is much more regionalized. Italy is a beautiful, diverse country with incredibly rich and varying gastronomic references. While in Milan, the use of Saffron is the norm to season a dish, Southern Italy and Sicily use the spicy Peperoncino and Tuscany favors Rosemary. Here is a short introduction to a few classic Italian regions famous worldwide for their gastronomy.