人类酿造葡萄酒的历史已有数千年之久，酿酒技术发展至今已不仅是一门科学，更成为一项艺术。在采摘、破碎、发酵、过滤澄清、装瓶陈化等五个基本流程中，酿造者的一些工艺与细节也在很大程度上决定了葡萄酒味道的差异。
Wine making has been around for thousands of years. It is not only a science but also an art. In general, there are five basic components of the wine making process: harvesting, crushing and pressing, fermentation, clarification, and aging and bottling.
尽管如此，葡萄酒发酵酿造本质而言仍是一个自然的流程，人类的作用则更类似“催化剂”或者“搬运工”，因此葡萄本身的差异对红酒红酒类型与优劣起着重要作用。在许多葡萄酒专家的眼里，打造一款优质的葡萄酒，需要从葡萄种植的那一刻开始。当然，葡萄的种植与选择并不能在一朝一夕完成，而是需要长时间的比较。
In a way, wine making is a natural process that requires little human intervention, so the grape vine is the source of all wine. Reaching the highest level of quality in wine is only possible by starting with the highest quality fruit. Maximizing fruit quality from any vineyard site can be a lengthy process, because the end results are revealed only after several seasons of comparison.
历经多年的筛选，目前意大利共有二十一种葡萄被用于酿造红葡萄酒，其中有四种尤为重要——他们所酿造的红酒无论在质量还是影响力方面都在意大利处于领先地位，可以说意大利葡萄酒辉煌的部分原因便是得益于这四种葡萄。
After years of selection, there are twenty-one red grape varieties that compose Italy's major varieties for red wine. Among them, four are especially important, either for the quality of wine they produce or for their dissemination throughout Italy.
桑娇维塞/Sangiovese
拥有典型意大利本土特色的红葡萄品种桑娇维塞是意大利种植范围最广的酿造红葡萄酒的品种。桑娇维亚具有红色的色泽，其特点为高酸度、单宁含量紧实、并拥有樱桃般的清香。
The indigenous Sangiovese (san joe VAE sae) is the most planted red variety in Italy's vineyards. The characteristics of Sangiovese include only a medium intensity of color, high acidity, firm tannin, and aromas and flavors of cherries and herbs.
纳比奥罗/Nebbiolo
纳比奥罗是皮埃蒙大区特产的意大利葡萄。作为意大利本土葡萄中的贵族，纳比奥罗是两种意大利著名红酒——巴罗罗（Barolo）与巴巴莱斯科(Barbaresco)的重要原料。
The Nebbiolo (nehb be OH loh) variety is a specialty of the Piedmont region. This native Italian grape makes two of Italy's very greatest red wines, Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as several less exalted wines.
巴贝拉Barbera
尽管近20年桑娇维塞在意大利的酿酒葡萄品种占据着统治性地位，但此前巴贝拉才是意大利酿酒葡萄中的王者。如今，巴贝拉在意大利半岛仍被广泛种植，其发源地皮埃蒙特地区出产的巴贝拉更是享誉世界。巴贝拉还有一个不同于其他酿酒葡萄品种的特点，便是其中几乎不含单宁酸。
Until Sangiovese dethroned Barbera sometime in the past 20 years, Barbera (bar BAE rah) was the most planted red variety in all of Italy. It still grows in many parts of the Italian peninsula, but its finest wines come from Piedmont, Barbera's home turf. Barbera is a very unusual red variety because it has almost no tannin.
艾格尼科/Aglianico
如果说上述三种葡萄都是享誉世界的品种，那么艾格尼科便是意大利葡萄酒的无名英雄。作为意大利坎帕尼亚大区和巴西利卡塔地区的骄傲，艾格尼科所制成的葡萄酒拥有深红色的色泽，丰富饱满的酒体。尽管目前艾格尼科的产量相对较小，并常与其他意大利南方葡萄品种混合酿制，但作为意大利最好的葡萄酒品种之一，艾格尼科拥有着很大的潜力。
This unsung native variety is the pride of the Campania and Basilicata regions, in Southern Italy. At its best, Aglianico makes dark, powerful red wines of high quality. But its production is relatively small, and in many cases the variety is merely part of a blend with other southern varieties. Nevertheless, it is one of Italy's finest red varieties, and has excellent potential.
尽管剩余十七种葡萄并不如前四种具有代表性，但它们仍在意大利葡萄酒品种中占据着重要地位；也正是葡萄品种的优质与多样，让意大利的葡萄酒行业具备了享誉世界的基础。
Though not as significant as what we have mentioned above, the other 17 red varieties are also quite important in Italy. It is all the grapes varieties that contribute to the fame of Italian wine Industry.
