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📍 Calabria

Appellation ✔ Checked: 10.2026 · sources: 6 Updated:

The toe of the Italian "boot" between two seas.

Calabria is the “toe” of Italy's boot in the far south, a region between two seas, the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian. It is part of Italian winemaking with a very ancient history: Greek colonists called these shores Oenotria, “land of wine”. The climate is hot, but mountain slopes give cooler sites.

The main red grape is Gaglioppo, which makes the famous wine Cirò: ruby-coloured, with cherry aromas, light tannin and good acidity. Cirò is the region's best-known appellation. Other reds include Savuto, Scavigna, Sant'Anna di Isola Capo Rizzuto, Pellaro and the wines of Terre di Cosenza. The white grape Greco makes Greco di Bianco, a sweet wine from semi-dried grapes, rare and expensive.

Other appellations of the region are Lipuda, Locride, Bivongi, Costa Viola, Lamezia and Valdamato. A lot of wine is still sold in demijohns without an appellation, but quality producers are developing fast.

Calabria suits anyone looking for unusual local grapes. Basilicata with its volcanic Aglianico del Vulture lies next door, and across the Strait of Messina is Sicily. Calabrian cooking is hot and spicy, with chilli and cured sausages, and light Cirò reds go well with it.

On the map: Calabria

What it includes

kind of🗺️Italian wine→📜Greco di Bianco→📜Lipuda→📜Locride→📜Pellaro→📜Sant'Anna di Isol…→📜Savuto→📜Terre di Cosenza→📜Bivongi→📜Costa Viola→📜Scilla→📜Valdamato→📜Arghillà→📜Lamezia→📜Palizzi→📜Scavigna📍towardia.com
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How it connects to Wine

📍 Calabria ← grows in ← 🍇 Montonico Bianco → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine

Part of
🗺️ Italian wine
Related to
Italy: 📜 Greco di Bianco, 📜 Lipuda, 📜 Locride, 📜 Pellaro, 📜 Sant'Anna di Isola Capo Rizzuto, 📜 Savuto, 📜 Terre di Cosenza, 📜 Bivongi, 📜 Costa Viola, 📜 Scilla
and 6 more📜 Valdamato, 📜 Arghillà, 📜 Lamezia, 📜 Palizzi, 📜 Scavigna, 📜 Val di Neto
Grapes
🍇 Greco, 🍇 Gaglioppo, 🍇 Montonico Bianco, 🍇 Addoraca, 🍇 Magliocco Dolce, 🍇 Greco Nero, 🍇 Marsigliana Nera, 🍇 Magliocco Canino, 🍇 Greco Bianco, 🍇 Mantonico Bianco
and 7 more🍇 Nocera, 🍇 Prunesta, 🍇 Guardavalle, 🍇 Brettio Nero, 🍇 Pecorello, 🍇 Nerello Cappuccio, 🍇 Castiglione
Main grapes
🍇 Gaglioppo
Wines
🍷 Red wine, 🍷 White wine, 🍷 Rosé, 🍷 Still wine
Olive cultivars
🫒 Carolea

Frequently asked questions

Where is Calabria?

In the far south of Italy, the “toe” of the boot between the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas.

What is the best-known wine of Calabria?

Cirò, a red from the Gaglioppo grape.

What is Greco di Bianco?

A rare sweet wine from semi-dried Greco grapes.

What to read next

  • 🫒 Carolea — The most important cultivar of Calabria, above all in the province of Catanzaro: over 50,000 hectares; used for oil and table olives.
  • 📜 Bivongi — Wines from the slopes around Bivongi on the Ionian coast of Calabria.
  • 🍇 Greco — The name of several white grapes of southern Italy; the best known makes Greco di Tufo.
  • 🍷 Still wine — Ordinary wine without carbon dioxide bubbles.
  • 📜 Lipuda — Regional wines (IGT) from the Lipuda river valley in the province of Crotone.

Similar

📜 Alto Livenza · 📜 Valdadige · 📜 Trevenezie · 📍 Molise · 📍 Basilicata · 📍 Abruzzo

⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.

Sources

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