Hard as it may be to imagine Italy as a ragbag of independent principalities 150 years ago, its 20 regions might just as well be separate countries today when it comes to wine. It’s part of what we love and hate about Italy. We love Italian wine for its innovation and flair, its multiplicity of grape varieties, some weird, some wonderful, and its unrivalled affinity with food. Yet it teases us with that very diversity. Just when you think you’re beginning to get a handle on Enotria, as the Greeks named this vine-clad peninsula, its frustrating complexities and stifling bureaucracy can all too easily send us scurrying for refuge in the comforting familiarities of France and the New World.

Italy is such a wonderful source of great wine that it would be a great shame if we were put off by an unwillingness to engage and a lack of ambition in our enjoyment of wine. Why is Italy worth it? Precisely because it follows a different path from its wine giant neighbour France and a New World (with the arguable exception of Argentina) that takes its cue almost entirely from French grape varieties. And because Italy today is has grasped the nettle of change to become one of the most exciting wine countries in the world.

Take an innocuous name like soave. Once derided for its vacuous semi-industrial bianco, it now produces wines of distinction from the local garganega grape. Surprise yourself with the 2009 Inama Soave Classico, £13.99, buy 2 = £11.99, Majestic, a delightfully fresh and fragrant dry Venetian white with real purity of definition and stonefruit flavours. Or push the boat out with the 2008 Pieropan Calvarino Soave Classico, £17.99- £18.95, The Secret Cellar (01892537981), Valvona & Crolla (01315566066), a floral dry white with a teasingly rich texture checked by an almondy, savoury counterpoint. Head south to the Adriatic and try out the intensity, concentration and finesse of Cantine Belisario’s fine 2007 Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva Cambrugiano, £18.99, Philglas & Swiggot (02076421576).

Despite the expanding variety of quality Italian whites, the major suit in the Italian pack remains its red diamonds. You have innovative attempts at an international style in wines from Tuscany’s Maremma region such as the 2007 Il Casalone Poggio Colombi, Toscana Maremma, a value red of seductively cherryish, chocolatey richness, £10.95, or £9.86 by the case, Jeroboams. Equally the same sub-region shows the splendour of the local sangiovese grape in Zonin’s seductively rich and sour cherry spicy 2008 Podere San Cristoforo Candarelle Sangiovese, £16.95, Berry Bros & Rudd (08002802440).

My own taste constantly reverts to the great reds of north-west Italy, where the fine 2006 vintage is giving pause for thought with wines such as the hauntingly perfumed, stylish 2006 Massolino Barolo, £39.81, Corks Out (01925267700). With Spring on the way, Piemonte offers a broader palette of more affordable rosso for springtime sipping in its dolcetto, barbera and nebbiolo. The sprightly berry fruit of G D Vajra’s 2009 Dolcetto d’Alba, £16.33 - £16.99, Bennetts Fine Wines (01386 840 392), Martinez Wines, make it just the ticket for summery lunches and picnics. Vajra’s smart and satisfying 2008 Langhe Nebbiolo, £19.91 - £20.49, Philglas & Swiggot, Noel Young Wines (01223 844 744) is a mini-barolo in all but name – and price. And Wine Relief’s succulently damsony 2007 Villa Lanata, Lo Zoccolaio, Suculé, Barbera d'Alba, £9.99, Majestic, should bring a smile to your red-nosed face on Friday.

Something for the Weekend

Under £6

2007 Olarra Clásico Rioja Crianza

Clásico is the word for this tempranillo-based, oak-aged rioja whose light aromatic touch of smokiness and vanilla is supported by a smooth, mellowing strawberryish fruitiness and the spicy undertones of barrel maturation. £5.33, down from £7.99, until 22 March, Sainsbury’s

Under a Tenner

2009 Concha y Toro Maycas del Limarí Syrah, Chile

Vibrantly spicy with pepper-scented undertones, the exotic blackberry fruit richness of this Chilean Syrah from Marcelo Papa shows the excellence of the Rhône variety in its northerly, Pacific-cooled location. £7.49, down from £9.49, until 31 March, Tesco.

Splash Out

2007 Schistes, Stratagème Rouge, St.Chinian, France

Spicily aromatic with cinnamon notes and richly endowed with an intense dark berry fruit quality infused with herby garrigue notes, this blend from Thierry Rodriguez, self-styled ‘chasseur de crus’ (terroir hunter) looks and tastes impressive. £11.95, Jeroboams shops, London.