Forget cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and even pinot noir for just a moment. As fine as they are, there’s a whole world of grape varieties out there to explore, and many of the most accessible in Australia hail from Italy. Let’s look at some Australian Italian red wines.
The popularity of Italian red varietals in Australia is hardly surprising given our enduring love affair with Italian food and culture. Every region of Italy produces wine from local grapes and many of those red varietals – especially from the hotter southern regions – are perfect for Australia. So next time you want a glass of red wine, reach for one of these delicious Australian Italian red wines. I’ve suggested specific food pairings for each wine, but I also love any of these Australian Italian reds with a simple grilled steak (see video below).
Sangiovese
Italy’s most widely planted red varietal is versatile sangiovese. It originated in Tuscany where it’s used in both Chianti and the much more intense Brunello di Montalcino. One of the first Italian red grape varietals in Australia, sangiovese does well in north-eastern Victoria, Australia’s home of Italian wine. Julian Castagna’s La Chiave from Beechworth is the benchmark for Australian-grown sangiovese, try it with a hearty pasta puttanesca.
Montepulciano
Italy’s second most common red grape is popular along the southern Adriatic and best known for Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo (different to Tuscan Montepulciano made from sangiovese). It’s also widely planted in Marche, Puglia, Lazio and Umbria. Montepulciano wines are known for deep colour and food-friendly tannins. In the Adelaide Hills Darryl Catlin makes two montepulcianos, including his black label perfect with tuna ‘meatballs’.
Nero d’Avola
Sicily’s most important grape, nero d’Avola, is often compared to shiraz in flavour and regarded as the perfect grape for Australia’s hotter, drier regions like McLaren Vale. Coriole pioneered Italian varietals there in the mid-80s, more recently adding Nero d’Avola to their range. In Canberra Chrissie Smith makes a beautiful nero d’Avola from Gundagai-grown fruit. It’s smooth, structured and juicy, great with stuffed eggplants.
Nebbiolo
Known for its aroma of tar and roses, nebbiolo – the grape behind two of Italy’s most famous wines, Barolo and Barbaresco – is native to Piedmont. It grows pressed up against the Alps in Italy’s north and is right at home in the cooler Eden Valley, where Henschke’s ‘The Rose Grower’ is a great example. It has layers of red fruit, rose petals and dried herbs, refined tannins and good acid. Enjoy it with a rare roast beef open sandwich.
Barbera
Also from Piedmont, where its light, food-friendly nature makes it the everyday wine of choice, barbera is a hardy red varietal that’s spread throughout Italy. In the King Valley, home of Italian red varietals in Australia, Michael Dal Zotto makes a seriously delicious rosato from barbera, sangiovese, nebbiolo and pinot nero. I love it with pistachio-crusted salmon.
Teroldego
Teroldego – grown mainly in cool Trentino Alto-Adige bordering Austria in northern Italy – is a distant relation of shiraz. Its wines are typically dark, with hints of spice and round, soft tannins. It’s grown in several Australian regions including around Kuitpo in the Adelaide Hills. There, at Poppelvej, Uffe Deichmann uses it to make Lille, a light chillable red wine with plenty of red fruit flavour and a lovely crisp finish. Ideal with mushroom & fennel pasta.
Negroamaro
Negroamaro, meaning ‘black bitter’, is grown almost exclusively in Puglia, where it makes some of the region’s most popular wines. It’s often blended with malvasia nera for a perfumed red wine with a pleasantly bitter finish. It’s quite at home in the warm McLaren Vale region, where the Coriole family makes an excellent version with a hint of spice and lovely clean acid finish; it’s the perfect drop with the rich Puglian mussel dish tiella Barese.
Updated 05 Feb 2025
