Grape Varieties in Italy.

The grape variety used will affect the flavour of a wine as mush as the variation in taste between a Granny Smith and a Golden Delicious apple, say. The northwest is blessed with a large number of grape varieties, both red and white and most wines are made from single varieties, without blending, so the character of the grape clearly determines the character of the wine. The features of each are described as they are encountered along the wine routes. Producers are, in general, strongly convinced of the high quality of their grape varieties and proud of their characteristics. That, however, does not stop them experimenting and the international varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and so on crop in a number of wines, sometimes in intriguing blends with the native grapes.

Savona, Italy

Savona is quietly elegant, in an old-fashioned sort of way. In some ways, it is like a miniature. Genoa, with the contrast between the graceful newer part and the old town, behind the port, with its maze of narrow alleyways. In other ways, it more resembles a miniature Turin, with colonnaded streets and grid-like road system. But it lacks the spaciousness and verve of both Genoa and Turin, feeling more closed-in and less airily bright, and seems firmly set in older, more stately times. There aer some very ornately decorated buildings, one or two over-exaggeratedly so and some quietly refined piazzas but there's a strong sense that the true Savona does not reveal itself easily and that more than a casual glance is needed to get under the skin of this oddly intriguing, small city.