White and Sparkling Wines
Italy
has many wine-growing regions, but three areas stand out for producing
the finest wines of Italy.
What follows is a very non-exhaustive list of the more common types
of Italian white wine you're likely to encounter.
White Wine (Vino Bianco)
Trebbiano - Behind cataratto (which is made for industrial
jug wine), this is the most widely planted white varietal in Italy.
It is grown throughout the country, with a special focus on the wines
from Abruzzo. Mostly, they are pale, easy drinking wines, but trebbiano
from producers such as Valentini have been known to age for 15+ years.
It is known as Ugni Blanc in France.
Moscato - Grown mainly in Piedmont, it is mainly used
in the slightly-sparkling (frizzante), semi-sweet Moscato d'Asti. Not
to be confused with moscato giallo and moscato rosa, two Germanic varietals
that are grown in Trentino Alto-Adige.
Nuragus - An ancient Phoenician varietal found in southern
Sardegna. Light and tart wines that are drunk as an apertif in their
homeland.
Pinot Grigio - A hugely successful commercial grape
(known as Pinot Gris in France), its wines are characterized by crispness
and cleanness. As a hugely mass-produced wine, it is usually delicate
and mild, but in a good producers' hands, the wine can grow more full-bodied
and complex. The main problem with the grape is that to satisfy the
commercial demand, the grapes are harvested too early every year, leading
to wines without character.
Tocai Friuliano - A varietal distantly related to Sauvignon
Blanc, it yields the top wine of Friuli, full of peachiness and minerality.
Currently, there is a bit of controversy regarding the name, as the
EC has demanded it changed to avoid confusion with the Tokay dessert
wine from Hungary.
Ribolla Gialla - A Slovenian grape that now makes its
home in Friuli, these wines are decidedly old-world, with aromas of
pineapple and mustiness.
Arneis - A crisp and floral varietal from Piedmont,
which has been grown there since the 15th century.
Malvasia Bianca - Another white varietal that peeks
up in all corners of Italy with a wide variety of clones and mutations.
Can range from easy quaffers to funky, musty whites.
Pigato - A heavily acidic varietal from Liguria, the
wines are vinified to pair with a cuisine rich in sea-food.
Fiano (wine) - Grown on the southwest coast of Italy,
the wines from this grape can be described as dewy and herbal, often
with notes of pinenut and pesto.
Garganega - The main grape varietal for wines labeled
Soave, this is a crisp, dry white wine from the Veneto wine region of
Italy. It's a very popular wine that hails from northeast Italy around
the city of Verona.
Other important whites include Carricante, Catarratto,
Coda de Volpe, Cortese, Falaghina, Grillo, Inzolia, Picolit, Tocai Friulano,
Traminer, Verdicchio, Verduzzo, Vermentino and Vernaccia.