Italian Wines to try

[Puccino]

Bonjour à tous,

My wife and I leave this coming Saturday for a 16 day tour of Italy - we're driving the entire trip. As far as I know, I have never tried any Italian wines and would like to get possibly some suggestions from some of you on what to try, or maybe places to go.
We prefer reds, and I generally prefer Spanish wines with the tempranillo grape, or wines from the Rhone valley in France. Tend to not generally care for Merlot, or even wines that have been blended with too much Merlot. So, that being said, any suggestions?

Merci in advance,
Puccino