Italian White Wines
Italy offers a very wide range of white grape varieties, many only grown within the country.
Arguably the nation’s best whites come, unsurprisingly, from the cooler north, from Piedmont in the west to Alto Adige in the north-east. Some of these are international varieties like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but there’s Cortese, the grape of Gavi, the Italians have claimed Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio) as their own, and there are also widespread plantings in the north-east of Pinot Blanc (Bianco), plus Gewurztraminer.
The workhorse grape of central Italy is Trebbiano. It’s now clear (from Jancis Robinson’s monumental Wine Grapes tome) that there are various distinct grapes sold as Trebbiano. The most widely planted in Tuscany and Umbria is known as Trebbiano Toscano: it’s the same as Ugni Blanc and as such crisp but neutral. Wines labelled as Vernaccia are likewise made from several different varieties - but superior is Vernaccia di San Gimignano.
Here at SVS we prefer to focus on specific grapes grown in pockets within Italy, for example: the excellent white grapes - Falanghina, Greco di Tufo and Fiano - of the Campania east of Naples; or Grechetto in Umbria; Pecorino in the Marche; and Grillo in Sicily.
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This Recioto di Soave is made from bunches of a selection of the first picked - for the best...
OriginItaly
RegionVeneto
ColourWhite
ABV14.5%
Bottle50cl
CodeMAI620
GrapeGarganega
