📍 Calabria

Calabria is a region at the very south of Italy, between the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas, and also the name of the wine indication IGT Calabria. According to the official list of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture (March 2026), it has 10 designations of origin — one DOCG and nine DOC — plus another 10 wines with IGT status.

The region's best-known wine is Cirò from the province of Crotone. The Cirò DOC has existed since 1969: the red and rosé contain at least 80% Gaglioppo, and the white 80% Greco bianco. The zone covers the communes of Cirò and Cirò Marina and parts of Melissa and Crucoli. In 2025 the EU also registered Cirò Classico, Calabria's only DOCG.

At the other end of the region, in the province of Reggio Calabria, they make Greco di Bianco — a sweet white wine from at least 95% Greco bianco. The grapes are dried in the sun on reed mats or in drying rooms and lose up to 35% of their weight. The total alcohol of this wine is no less than 17%. In 1980 Greco di Bianco became the province's first DOC.

Other DOCs include Bivongi, Lamezia, Melissa, Savuto, Scavigna and Terre di Cosenza. Since 1995 the IGT Calabria indication has covered the whole region; if such a label names a grape, the wine holds at least 85% of it.

Why it matters to you. Cirò is sold only in glass, and Cirò Rosso Superiore Riserva may only have a cork flush with the bottle neck. The word «riserva» on Cirò means at least two years of ageing, and «Classico» now marks a separate DOCG. Reds are served at 15–18 °C, whites at 4–10 °C.