I still remember the first glass of Italian wine I drank while in Italy. Only a few days after my arrival in Bologna, I took my first sip in a friend’s small apartment, just a few steps away from Piazza Maggiore, the city’s central square, home to the iconic fountain of Neptune, the Basilica di San Petronio, and plenty of walkers, visitors, and those lucky to be sipping a small cappuccino or aperitivo at one of the tables scattered throughout the piazza.

That first glass of wine would not be my last over the six months I would call Bologna home. Sangiovese, Barbaresco, Chianti, Prosecco — Italian wines are some of the most well-known throughout the world, and Italy is one of the world’s oldest and largest producers of wine.