Italian Whites

The reputation of Italian white wine has never been as high as its reds, even though sweet whites have been made since Roman times and Chianti was originally a white wine. Until recently, the grapes were often fermented at too high temperatures, causing the wine to lose its aromatics, and the wines would be made even flabbier by skin contact and unnecessary barrel ageing. Italy's ubiquitous white grape, Trebbiano di Toscana, also didn't help the reputation. Known as Ugni Blanc in France, the grape is bland, neutral, lifted only by high acidity (which is why it's used for making Cognac).

The last twenty years, however, have seen a huge improvement in the quality of Italian whites, with fermentation at lower temperatures and in stainless steel vats. There is now a wide range of well-made, fresh, aromatic whites to choose from - some of them inexpensive for everyday drinking, others of higher quality but still good value.

In preparation for my Diploma exam, which is in June, I've been tasting some Italian whites to get a sense of the different identity of each variety and the region they come from.

Pinot Grigio

Such has been the transformation of Italian whites that Pinot Grigio is almost synonymous with white wine. Refreshing, easy, slightly fruity, and inexpensive, wines from Pinot Grigio dominate wines by the glass in bars and restaurants. The grape is the same as Alsace's Pinot Gris (the grey of the name referring to the grape's dark coloured skins), but produces a completely different style of wine as the grapes are picked much earlier, keeping the acidity high but the aromas more neutral. Richer versions are picked later, maintaining acidity but adding aromatics. These full, floral wines defy Pinot Grigio's reputation and can be very attractive and still well priced. The popularity of the wines has seen plantings mushroom in Italy: from 3,500ha in 1990 to over 17,000 today. It's found all over the north-east of Italy, mostly in Veneto, but also in Trentino and Fruili, where the best and richest examples come from. 

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Blason Pinot Grigio 2013, Fruili ($9.99)
This a good example of a fuller version of Pinot Grigio: very floral (honeysuckle, acacia), with stone fruits (peach, apricot) and tropical fruits (melon, pineapple). The finish is quite spicy, with nutmeg and ginger. All at a very low price. ✪✪✪✪

Cortese

Cortese is the grape of Gavi, a town in Piemonte. The grape is notable for high acidity and mineral aromas. It also produces high yields, which can lead to overproduction and rather neutral wines. This is what happened in the 1980s, when the popularity of Gavi declined after its heyday in the 1960s and 70s due to an excess of insipid wines. The quality of Gavi is rising again, producing good value, faintly aromatic, refreshing, and lightly rich wines. The best wines are labelled Gavi di Gavi or Gavi di Tassarolo, and the most concentrated wines come from the subzone of Rovereto.

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Terre da Vino Agricole Masseria del Carmenitani 2014, Gavi di Gavi ($11.99)
Sweet, ripe fruits on the nose of melon, watermelon, and pineapple, with floral notes of roses and apple blossom. The palate doesn't quite follow up on the appealing aromas of the nose, but does have a good, refreshing acidity. Again, good value for money, without being particularly exciting. ✪✪✪

Garganega

Garganega is a quality grape often associated with simple, bland wines. Like Cortese, this is all down to yields: keep the yields low and the character of the grape really comes out with a dry mineral quality and white flowers, green apples, citrus, and apricots. It's the grape of Soave, a small hilltop village near Lake Garda in Veneto. Soave must be 70% Garganega; the other 30% of the blend can add to or detract from Garganega's qualities. Basic Soave is produced on flat vineyards, with Trebbiano di Toscano in the blend. The best Soave is produced on hillside vineyards under the Soave Classico DOCG, either 100% Garganega or with Trebbiano di Soave (which is actually Verdicchio) in the blend. It's this kind of confusion which doesn't help the Italian wine industry.

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Dama del Rovere Tremenalto, Soave Classico 2012 ($18.99)
There's an astonishing mineral character driving through this wine (which is 100% Garganega), with piercing acidity and a very dry finish. The fruits - green apples and peaches - hide behind that concentrated acidic dryness. There is something almost Riesling like in its mineral, petrol aromas and its long, dry, acidic finish. An intense, quality, but rather difficult wine. ✪✪✪✪✪

Ribolla Gialla

Found in north-east Italy in the Fruili-Venezia-Guilia region, wines from Ribolla Gialla were drunk by the Venetian nobility in the 1200s. It's vinified in a variety of ways, including oak ageing, skin contact, and being made into sparkling wines. Most commonly it is a light-bodied dry white wine, with high acidity, and citrus, lemon-pepper aromas. It is at its best in the hillside Colli Orientali del Fruili and Collio DOCs of Fruili, producing delicate wines in the latter and fuller bodied wines in the former.

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Vigneti Sant'Helena Ribolla Gialla 2011, Venezia IGP ($19.99)
Unfortunately, @kt_canfield drank this while I was away in France (for which I can't really blame her) so I didn't get a chance to try it. She has, however, repeatedly told me how good it was and provided me with her concise tasting notes: light, crisp, citrus, and orange peel.

Ermacora Ribolla Gialla 2013, Colli Orientali del Fruili ($15.99)
Well, I had to go out and buy another to try for myself. And naturally it wasn't as good: sharp, tart citrus fruits, lacking concentration of flavours or structure. The interesting thing is that the better wine (according to my wife at least) was an IGP, rather than from the more recognised DOC - the best Italian wines can often come from outside the hierarchy.

Vermentino

Also known as Favorita in Piemonte and Rolle in France, Vermentino is at its best on the island of Sardinia where proximity to the sea gives the wines a gripping, saline quality. Where it's grown and how it's made result in quite different wines: from light, young, and refreshing to heavier, weightier wines that have seen some lees or even oak ageing. Aromas can also vary from citrus to tropical fruits, but marked by floral and herbal characteristics.

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Vermentino Cantina di Gallura 2013, Sardinia ($17.99)
Unforunately, this wine was corked - most of the corked wines I have had recently have been Italian, which is becoming something of an issue.

Kerner

A wine from the Kerner grape was thrown into a blind tasting of Italian whites as a surprise element. Kerner is a German crossing of Trollinger (which is a black grape) and Riesling, and of all the German crossings it's the one that comes closest to Riesling in its flavours and very good acidity. In Italy's Alto-Adige, many German grapes such as Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Müller-Thurgau are found, as the area is heavily Germanic (it's also called Südtirol). The best vineyards are 600-800m high, producing white wines and Pinot Nero with great acidity and aromatics.

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Kerner Cantina Valle Isarzo 2013, Alto Adige ($18.99)
Lots of ripe fruits on the nose, with pears, grapes, oranges, and peaches, and floral notes of honeysuckle and acacia, followed by a wet stone mineral texture and a spicy cinnamon finish on the palate. The alcohol was a little high (at 14%) but with quite concentrated flavours. ✪✪✪✪

Müller-Thurgau

Another German crossing that is at its best in the Alto Adige. Müller-Thurgau has a bad reputation and rightly so: in Germany, it's been valued for its high yields more than the quality of the wine it produces. In the 1970s and 80s, it was planted far more than Riesling and was responsible for bulk wines such as Blue Nun and Black Tower. It was propogated by a Dr. Müller from the Swiss canton of Thurgau in 1882; he thought he was crossing Riesling with Silvaner, but was actually crossing Riesling with a forgettable grape called Madeleine Royale. Despite its widespread planting in Germany, it's actually at its best elsewhere, particularly Alto Adige.

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Kettmeir Müller-Thurgau 2013, Alto Adige ($19.99)
Tasting this wine blind, I would confuse it for a Sauvignon Blanc. It has a very floral, herbaceous nose, with grass, nettles, lemon-pepper, and elderflower, with a citrus lime zest kick on the palate followed by a spicy ginger, nutmeg finish. ✪✪✪✪

Each of these wines is under $20 and of a consistently good quality, demonstrating that Italian whites represent very good value for money. None of them has seen any kind of ageing on their lees or in oak, instead allowing the character of the grape to come through. Despite the different grapes, there are similarities between all the wines which mark a kind of Italian style: high acidity, floral aromas of acacia and honeysuckle, and spicy palates of ginger and nutmeg. None of the wines stands out as outstanding - though the Soave came close - but they all show an improved consistency in the standard of Italian white wine.