What makes a wine French, or American or Spanish? Attributing national characteristics is a murky business, with one significant exception. Regardless of where they come from, the red wines of Italy often bear a similar signature: great acidity and sweet fruit or floral aromas and flavors, tempered by a refreshing bitterness that sets up the next sip.

This is not to say that the nebbiolo wines of northern Italy taste anything like the sangiovese wines of Tuscany, the aglianicos of Campania or the nerello mascaleses of Sicily. As different as these wines can be, they all seem imprinted with a character that transcends regional and cultural boundaries.