Liguria’s wines boast an age-old tradition, which began with the Greeks, continued with the Romans and through the centuries, arrived to the present day. With 5,000 hectares of vineyards out of a total surface of just over 5,000 square km, Liguria is one of the smallest wine-growing regions.

Walking along the region from east to west, in the “Levante”, one can find 4 out of the 8 Liguria wines DOC: Golfo del Tigullio-Portofino or Portofino DOC, Colline di Levanto DOC, Cinque Terre and Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà Doc and Colli di Luni Doc. The main vines cultivated here are: Albarola, Bianchetta Genovese, Vermentino, Ciliegiolo, Dolcetto, Moscato Bianco and Bosco. Vermentino, Bosco and Albarola are the basis of the Cinque Terre DOC and the rare Sciacchetrà, wine made from dried grapes, produced in very limited quantities.
The name of Sciacchetrà originates from the Ligurian dialect, and is formed by the terms “sciac”, which means “crushing”, and “trà”, which means “drawing”, perhaps in reference to the crushing of grapes and the removal of the marcs.

The Valpolcevera DOC can be found in the province of Genoa. The main vines here are Ciliegiolo, Sangiovese, Vermentino, Bianchetta Genovese, Albarola and Dolcetto that produce red, rosé and white wines in the fortified, bubbly, sparkling wine, fresh and passito versions.

In the area of western Liguria one can find the last 3 DOC wines of the region: Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC, Pornassio or Ormeasco di Pornassio DOC and Rossese di Dolceacqua DOC. The most important vines in this part of the region are: Rossese, Moscato Bianco, Alicante, Pigato, Vermentino and Dolcetto. In Quiliano, in the Savona area, the Granaccia vine variety is particularly widespread, probably native of France, where it is known as Grenache.