taly takes its wine seriously: combine a long history of wine-making (all the way back to Greek colonization) with an ideal climate and over a million vineyards, and you can see why Italy takes the top spot as the world’s wine producer. Italian wine is as popular at home as it is around the world, and the country produces about 42 to 51 million hectolitres per year, or one-quarter of global production. There are over 500 grape varieties planted in Italy’s vineyards, and both red and white wines are produced.