The type of wine you will probably recognize from southern Italy is Marsala, from Sicily. In fact, southern Italy has long been noted primarily for its whites, though there are a few reds, including Taurasi from the Campagnia region, that are now gaining favor as well.

Marsala

Marsala wine shares a name with the Sicilian seaport city on the western side of the island. If you've ever enjoyed a dish of veal or chicken Marsala, you have the people of this city to thank. They fortified their local Marsala wine so that it would be able to withstand long shipping distances across the oceans, and that fortification made today's Marsala more like port than wine, ideal for an aperitif or use in cooking.

There are actually three styles of Marsala wine, each indicating a different level of sweetness. Secco is the lowest level, followed by semisecco and sweet. It's the sweetness that makes Marsala wine so popular as a cooking ingredient, because when the wine is reduced over heat, it becomes almost syrupy in texture.

Taurasi

Taurasi is a red wine named for a town in the Campania region. It has exploded in popularity recently, with only one exporting winemaker in the area as of the early 1990s — and about 300 today. The consensus in the area is that Taurasi, made from the local Aglianico grape, can be developed on par with wines made from the Sangiovese and Nebbiolo grapes that grow so well elsewhere. Aglianico grapes grow at higher altitudes, which is perfect for the volcanic topography in southern Italy.