12 Italian WINE grapes YOU should try!!!

Italy is associated with great red wine but the country actually produces more white wine. Join me for a tasting of 12 Italian white wine grapes (besides Pinot Grigio) that are worth checking out!

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🥂 Wines featured in this episode:
Garofoli, Podium Verdicchio 2020 https://rebrand.ly/garofoli-verdicchio
Antonella Corda, Vermentino di Sardegna 2021 https://rebrand.ly/vermentino-corda
Pieropan, Soave Classico https://rebrand.ly/pieorpan-soave-classico
San Salvatore, Pian di Stio Fiano 2022 https://rebrand.ly/fiano-pian-di-stio

Maugeri, Enta Bianco Superiore Contrada Volpare 2020
Casale del Giglio, Bellone 2021
Fontefico, La Canaglia Pecorino 2022
Marco Felluga, Amani Friulano 2022
Tenuta Cavalier Pepe, Lila Falanghina 2022
Madrevite, il Reminore Spoletino 2021
La Raia, Pleo Gavi 2022
Valle Reale, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2022
Pieropan, La Rocca 2020

00:00 Italy is the land of white wine
02:21 Tasting Italian WHITE Wine

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most people associate Italy with the
unique collectible age worthy red wines
like barolo barbaresco brella deino
kianti Classico or the big super Tuscan
wines but actually Italy produces more
white than red wine when it comes to the
world’s biggest producers of wine Italy
and France flipflop back and forth every
few years the last stats that I saw
showed that Italy the last couple years
has been the number one wine producing
country in the world producing about 20%
of the world’s wine and of all the
Italian wine produced 58% of that is
white wine Italy’s known for its wealth
of indigenous grape varieties I’ve seen
facts and figures going everywhere from
2,000 to several hundred Italy’s
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
counts that there are 350 authorized
white wine grapes crispy white wines
it’s a relatively new phenomenon in
Italy Frei was maybe the first region in
the country to be recognized for the
high quality white wines but those white
that’s known for really didn’t come
about until post World War II A lot of
these unique white grapes that were
spread throughout Italy were fermented
on the Skins being more like yellow or
orange wine until about the 1970s
nowadays when I’m Going to the Country
I’m judging in competitions it seems
like there’s a new variety being
vinified into wine in Italy almost like
every month I know that I’m exaggerating
a little bit I like Italian white wine
grape varieties because even when
they’re fermented made into crisp
easygoing stainless steel type wines
they always have character Frei Venia
Julia was really the Pioneer trentino
Alto ad produces excellent white wines
Vito is well known especially for Suave
however all the regions in Italy now are
producing fantastic white wines CA is a
region that’s really hot right now and I
have a couple companion varieties here
Peno gregio is probably the most famous
white wine grape coming out of Italy
first of all it’s a French grape second
of all it’s more of a pink skin or red
grape pinio is a victim to its own
success a lot of us nerds associate
Italian penino Grio with thin watery
wines that are about as exciting as tap
water however I think there are a lot of
great Peno greos out there I don’t have
any Peno greos I have 12 different white
wine grapes from Italy I’ve tasted all
these wine grapes but some of these
wines I have not tasted before let’s get
tasting today it’s not fully blind
tasting to me but it’s blind tasting to
you I’m going to taste the grape variety
you can guess along with it see if you
identify it the first one is what I
consider one of Italy’s greatest white
wine grapes and it’s from the region of
Marque in central Italy Geeks probably
already identified the variety now but
let’s get taste in here this is very
stereotypical of the variety this
variety has high aity ages well has this
nice piny limey type note extremely
mineral this wine actually has some
bottle age on it but it smells very
fresh again another example of why this
white grape is so phenomenal I think of
lime Limestone crushed rock seawater
Pine and a touch of Basil it smells
really good it’s not overly aromatic but
it smells really good smells fruity
enough but has some nuances for geeks to
get into on the palette tons of weight
you can tell this is a high quality wine
because there’s a lot of texture here
it’s not boring the Finish is extremely
long I mean we’re jumping out of the
gate swinging this is one hell of a
start I’m 91 Plus on this wine you guess
what the variety is it’s verico one of
the greatest white varieties in Italy
this is the garfi podium 2020 so it’s
got some bottle age 26 bucks Marque this
is a verico de Castell dii there’s two
Appalachians there’s also verico de
matalica I think is the other one no Oak
brilliant wine that’s excellent okay
number two is a favorite of mine this is
a white wine grape that’s exists in
France also exists in Italy the regions
you’re going to see in Italy are ligoria
Tuscany however Sardinia is really what
made this variety popular I know this
variety very well because I judge every
year every other year in the
international competition for this
variety I know this producer I haven’t
tasted the Vintage this is one white
grape that’s affordable and could be a
great house wine for every night of the
week and it’s Unique pineapple sage
seawater the pineapple and sagin really
distinguish this variety great starter
variety for people that want to get into
unique white grapes for a wine that only
sees stainless steel there’s this Tangy
Orange Peel like acidity fantastic with
seafood shellfish regular fish cooked
fish raw fish also with some maybe pork
or cream chicken type dishes it has
enough acidity to be Tangy but not too
much where it’s too sharp for a lot of
people I know a lot of people a lot of
my wine friends say that they are
absolutely in love with this grape
variety and this is a wonderful example
fruity round I think a lot of people are
going to like us have you guys has the
great Variety in France it’s sometimes
known as roll in Italy it’s known as
pigato or vermentino this is the Anella
Cordo vermentino the Sardinia
2021 25 bucks this is fantastic got a
nice long fish I’m still tasting this
wine 90 plus points on this for me this
is a higher level fresher vermentino
you’re going to see in Sardinia two
Appalachians you’re going to see
vermentino de Sardinia or you’re also
going to see vermentino de galora that’s
the only docg on the island those
vermentino de Galas usually are a little
bit bigger have a little more Lee Conta
sometimes can be a little age-worthy I
like a lot of times the simple
vermentino the sardinas 25 bucks I know
sometimes you can get some under 20 I’ve
been to all these regions here where
these wines are from except the first
one so I hopefully get to Marque soon
wine number three is a hot hot grape
variety right now and it’s from Sicily
there are a lot of Sicilian white grapes
that I’m a big fan of this one tends to
be a little bit more mineral a little
fruer sharp high in acid so usually for
more geeky people it’s not the easiest
wine for casual drinkers to drink I
think for casual drinkers that second
vermentino was spot on this is wine geek
wine and this is a fairly new producer
this is kind of like their entry level
white I’ve also tasted their higher
level white I actually on the nose
prefer this a lot more this gra variety
sometimes can be known for having just
it’s can to be too acidic almost like
battery acid I smell yogurt gas natural
gas volcanic rock stone a little bit of
white peach it’s extremely Smoky a super
Smoky wine I would love to have this
with some kind of vegetable stew over
the fire I’m really impressed I think
this wine did see a little bit of Oak
there’s a slight vanilla tinge to it
it’s so round on the nose however it’s
not it’s more mineral driven not
necessarily fruit driven on the pallette
the acidity is there it’s not super
sharp like sometimes this variety can
give off I know that the higher end wine
from this got Trey bieri from Gamba Roso
gamb Roso is a famous Italian magazine
they give the best wines of the year
every year three Beary three glasses I
prefer this entry level one entry level
these wines tend to be
expensive Smoky right know variety this
is the m Etna biano Superior cont V 2020
this is an Etna bian made from the grape
kante 40 bucks Etna is an extremely hot
region I’ve been there several times
it’s the highest active volcano in
Europe I think it’s over 10,000 ft
something amazing about tasting wine and
looking up and seeing a smoking volcano
Etna bianos are very unique sometimes I
can find them to be two AER I think this
is brilliant 91 points for me this is
Hardcore geeky type wine though I have
to let you know there’s different
villages on Etna Milo is the only
village where where you can make Etna
biano Superior all the other Villages
you can only make Etna biano funny thing
Milo is the first Village on Etna I ever
stayed at overnight I remember I drove
up there in the fog it was at night time
I was like what this you know it was
kind of boring and then when I woke up
in the morning you see Etna smoking in
the distance nice job M this is good
watch the video to the end and leave it
in the comments and tell me how many of
these 12 varieties you’ve actually
tasted and which one you like next one
is one of the more expensive wines in
the bunch the first grape we tasted
veriko is one of my favorite white
varieties in Italy this is right up
there I have three white wine grapes
that are my favorite in Italy this is
the second and then we’ll taste a third
later on let’s get started this is from
CA Naples is the capital of that region
an amazing place you have the sea you
have sandy beaches you have high
mountains that even have snow in the
spring and winter amazing food if you
have neapolitan pizza it’s hard to eat
pizza anywhere else in the world this is
stereotypical of what I expect from the
variety a lot of white flow it’s
explosive tons of white peach and
mineral flavors tons and sometimes when
I say white peach flavors sometimes when
people say white fruit flavors they’re
trying to use something and the wine
isn’t that fruity it’s more mineral this
is really fruity lime even a touch of
banana I think this is Barrel fermented
in the woke integration Stellar oh my
gosh this variety is known for having a
waxy texture this variety good examples
I always get this slight mineraly
sensation on the sides of my mouth which
is one has I know this wine and this is
showing way better than I’ve ever had it
before the lime and mango really come
out 93 points this is I I picked all
these wines it was a mixture of what I
could
get but this is 93 points this is
exceptional this is s salvator Pio it’s
a single Vineyard this is fiano is the
great variety 50 bucks fiano de avalino
is one of the more famous areas if
you’ll see this wine I’ve been up to Pi
steel before it’s way high in the
mountains yields are extremely low
that’s probably this wine is a little
bit more expensive 14% alcohol you don’t
feel it this is the type of white wine
that’s unique enough you give to
somebody that says that they don’t like
whites and they kind of get it cuz it’s
so explosive so fruity so mineral so
round at the same time I’m super
impressed if anybody’s had this next
grape variety I will be extremely
extremely impressed it’s from the region
of lat Rome is within latzio not the
most famous region for wine although
there’s some exceptional stuff coming
out of the region this white grape
traditionally was one of the components
of the wine frescati which is named
after the village of frescati it’s kind
of a white blend kind of been forgotten
I actually had this at a tasting at one
of my local shops here and I just wanted
to support her so I bought a bottle
let’s see how it shows here really
flinty lot of yellow Peach not as
explosive as the previous wine lime
Tangerine peel it’s more fruity the flin
not as mineral as the other wines
although this wine is a little bit more
affordable too but just bright fun
really nice it’s showing just as well as
I remember it it’s so fruity and tangy
it really tastes like tangerine and lime
on the back end with acidity that’s just
enough everything is perfect about this
wine what I really like the Finish maybe
not as long as some of the other wines
that’s what holds it back a little bit
I’m still a solid 89 points on it and I
don’t want this because of the price 89
points I think everybody should go out
and try this especially if you want to
try unique Italian white grape varieties
I just take a little bit off because the
Finish isn’t as long but I think this is
delicious this is something that it’s
just going to be great on a hot summer
day is very D and if you’ve tasted this
grape before I’d be impressed the grape
is balone this is the Casal Deo 20121
balone 18 bucks 2021 at this kind of
price point you’re not going to be be
next up is a white wine grape that
you’ll find in marqu and abuto their
neighboring regions right on the
Adriatic Coast right on the border of
central southern Italy this one is from
Ab Bruto this is one grape fored I don’t
actually really know the true character
cuz producers are working with it again
it’s Reviving it it’s fairly new so
styles are all over the place when done
well I really like it I tasted this on a
press STP of a Brut so and I was
impressed let’s see how it shows here
tons of sweet peach like canned sweet
peaches banana little bit of dried
pineapple flavors all fruit not a ton of
mineral in this a little bit of
dandelion I actually think of this grape
variety as having more pineapple this
has some dried pineapple some dried
guava in it but just fruit fruit fruit
that’s what you got to think
here this is why Wine’s so fun I would
think on the nose just fruit fruit fruit
on the pallet the aeds got laser sharp
focus and the fruit stays there but
there’s a spine of mineral note that
goes right down the back on the nose
wasn’t as impressed in terms of Le Lexy
on the palet the back end I think it’s
super complex the grape is called peino
from a Bruto there’s also a peino cheese
my friend who’s a master of wine and she
was a buyer for Mark and Spencer told me
when she was first traveling through the
region looking for fresh white wines to
blend for Mark and Spencer in the UK
somebody’s asked her hey do you want
some peino and she said sure they passed
her a glass of white wine and she
thought what I thought you meant this is
cheese I don’t know why they call it
peino some people say it’s because the
Sheep only eat this scrape I know those
was kind of an urban legend the fonico
2022 this is the ladia peino superior a
2022 25 bucks I know this is an organic
producer 90 plus points I think it’s
very good that’s a wine what I liked
when I tasted it at the Domain and then
when I just tasted it now I was like
uhoh maybe I’m not going to like it this
much you got to give wines a shot got to
give him a shot next up this white wine
grape is fori Venia Julia which might be
my favorite region in Italy I know some
people say crisp white wines us the
white wines I think of the higher
quality ones are a little bit bigger the
reds are also fantastic a lot of unique
indigenous grapes here this is actually
my favorite white grape variety from
Frei and the third of my top three
favorite white grapes of Italy this wine
also got Trey Bier recently so I’m
excited let’s give us very classic
pedigree producer this is a white wine
grape that usually doesn’t have a ton of
acidity so it’s really friendly for a
lot of people I expect pineapple and
this is pineapple for days when I smell
it pineapple slate white wines can start
to be predictable especially inexpensive
white wines that’s the cool thing about
Italian white grape varieties they can
be affordable but they’re unique enough
like all these are so different maybe a
little bit of white flour pineapple
slate white flour the pineapple just
jumps out of the GL for me at least this
is not a grape that’s high and acid but
it ages well because the pH is low I’ve
had some examples from the early ’90s
that have aged really really well this
is a white grape got lots of fruit up
front it’s so good I just like this
because it’s so fruity so pineapple I
love pineapple also the assd is not too
sharp to push people away I’m a solid 90
points on this this grape is not as her
this is called Fano this is the Marco
fuga this is the ammani Kio freano 2022
20 bucks for my palette 90 points I
think it’s Unique enough Marco fuga is a
pedigree a classic producer one of the
producers that helped put fi V it’sa
Julia on the map and I think this is
worth seeking out coming up here another
white wine grape from compana compa is
loaded it’s a hot region in terms of
white W and red wines right now I
actually did a video on this grape
variety a couple weeks ago it’s a grape
variety I never used to be super
impressed with but then when I went and
visited the region tasted some excellent
examples I was really impressed this is
more of an entry level wine more the
inexpensive Wines in a bunch let’s give
this a smell this producer their top
version of this white grape is the best
best wine from this scpe that I’ve ever
had let’s see what the entry level is
like a little bit of
smoke k type notes uh more Asian Paar on
the back end got a little bit of white
flour what I expect usually with higher
levels of this scrape I expect some
smokiness I think this is kind of just
an entry level delicious wine I’m more
in the 87 Point range for it I think
it’s good it’s not blowing me away it’s
not as good as their top wine but I
think at this price point it’s very
worth checking out the grape is called
fenina the tanut Cavalier Pepe this is
the Leela ERA fenina this AIA is the
region 17 bucks
2022 there Santa Vera is the best fenina
I’ve ever had I think this is a fresh
delicious white wine not my favorite
fenina ever but it’s worth checking out
I prefer fenina and Fano the most Greco
the TL is also a trendy variety that’s
one variety I haven’t gotten into in
comp maybe I have to go back I have
tasted a lot in competitions I’ve I’ve
never gotten as excited about Greco as a
lot of people but that’s just me this
this next scpe variety isn’t actually
Italian it’s the only one it’s actually
French variety however I think it does
exceptionally well in Italy and I wanted
to taste this wine so I’m excited the
best examples I found of this white wine
grape are usually in trantino Alto ad in
Italy suon for you Le Venia Julia but
this is actually from Umbria you’ll find
some in Tuscany too let’s give this a go
it’s a French variety originally from
burgundy so that’s a little bit of a tip
not chard either this is deep yellow in
color so maybe it has some skin contact
oh so this grape variety can be quite
neutral so sometimes you use skin
contact Lee contact to make it exciting
this is a minimal intervention producer
dried pineapple smoke yogurt type flavor
even a little bit of dried banana peel
lemon zest a little bit a little bit of
hay I know that maybe you know I grew up
on a far maybe that doesn’t sound good
to you but I know this producer and I
like the wines I’ve never tasted this
wine before and I think it’s outstanding
not the typical expression of this grape
variety think of more dried fruit
flavors it’s not an orange wine I don’t
know if it’s got some cold soaking some
skin contact since it has a little color
it’s Tangy it’s round I just want the
Finish to be a little bit longer I’m 90
Plus on it though I think it’s excellent
this is not stereotypical flavor profile
of this variety which is Pino biano
known as Pino blong in France this is
the majita this is the IL remor from
Umbria 20 bucks
2021
I made a mistake no wonder this is this
is not penino biano for some reason I
thought this so this stays Italian uh
and this is more what I would expect
from this grape variety my goodness this
is tabiano spino there’s a lot of
different tabanos in Italy spino is a
unique example I think they should just
shorten the name and call it spino next
year when I go to the anapra in Umbria I
want to do a specific focus on spatina
you know no wonder it’s so unique and we
can stay Italian I think this is very
good like I said 90 plus maybe even go
little because I at first I was thinking
it’s penino biano what happens when you
taste wines a lot of times cuz wine is
so complex you pigeonhole your mindset
when you know that you’re tasting from a
specific variety or specific region I
think this is very good and I love that
we kept the Italian theme spao you’re
going to mostly find in Umbria the best
examples I’ve found around Mona Falco I
think the origin is from the town of
spaletto which my friend Franchesca if
you’re watching She’s from that town
that’s what I love about YouTube the
spontaneity I’m not going to edit that
out let’s move on this is a white wine
put white wines from pedmont pomonte on
the map I’ve never been a huge huge fan
of this grape variety but let’s see how
this is this is brought in by an
exceptional importer Rosenthal and it’s
a biodynamic producer so let’s give this
a go here when I think of this grape
vary when I smell it I think of
immediately Flint white flow and just
just a touch of white peach but more and
maybe just a touch line but more mineral
driven extremely mineral driven it’s not
super fruity so you got to know like
some people are going to be turned off
by that but smells pretty good the white
flour the light man all these wines are
completely different which I
love oh you get a big spike of lemon
lime almost like a Sprite like Flavor
with the acidity you have some
complexity it surprised me because the
nose is not super intense with fruit but
on the pallet you get this Rush of fruit
this grape variety can have super high
acidity if the yields are not kept under
control this is kept fairly under
control and at this price point I I made
89 points on it I think it’s a very very
very good white wine this to me is
Ultimate summer sipper the grape is cesi
the wine is called gavi laa the playo
gav 2022 19 bucks I think this is
excellent value if you want to check
this out sometimes a lot of the gavis I
feel like are pretty generic this has
some character the Gavi wine is named
after the village of gavi but you can
actually make gavi in surrounding
Villages if you see gav toave it means
that’s it’s made with cesi grapes from
that Village of Gabi this is one of the
original like classic crispy white wines
of Italy I think it’s worth seeking out
and it’s a biodynamic producer if that’s
important to you this is a producer I
met from Ab Bruto when I went on the
Press strip recently and I was so
impressed I think the wines are
biodynamic beautiful labels as well this
is a grape variety that people think
when they hear they name it first like
oh that’s a fantastic grape variety but
it’s actually named for a group of grape
varieties all over the place this is one
of the better examples this is a little
bit shy at first a little bit of banana
I got to shake it out a little bit more
get a little bit more yogurt type notes
this say sweet banana and I know this
sounds kind of weird but it kind of has
a mayonnaise type smell to it I know
that sounds a little bit weird but it
smells and I don’t even like mayonnaise
but I find it attractive in this wine
mineral hit on it crushed rock white
wine with tons of acid I don’t think
I’ve tasted some examples of this wine
in the past I don’t think this is
showing its best right now to me it’s we
we’re we’re kind of in the 88 Point
ballpark I know I’ve this wine before I
I know it’s shown a lot better I think
it’s just the bottle let’s check it out
this is the valley rale this is the
trano DI AB Bruto
2022 this comes in at 18 bucks so pretty
affordable a lot of people when they
think of trano they think of tabano
Tuscana is what’s grown all around
central Italy tabano Tuscana is actually
the grape uni Blanc which is used to
make cognac in France Tre AB Bruto is a
completely different grape variety I
think this is a good solid example I
think the best example I’ve ever had is
valentinis which is one of the greatest
white wines in Italy but you’re also
going to pay for it comes in at I think
$300 they make also a higher level chab
do a brutal maybe I should have shown
that cuz this isn’t showing as good as I
would like just how the cookie crumble
sometimes okay this is a super famous
producer Super Famous wine a lot of
people don’t know the grape variet know
this wine because it was one of Italy’s
most exported wine especially in the
’90s let’s give this a smell this is a
higher level wine too this smells great
gas volcanic gas mineral more mineral
driven and more dried fruit dried yellow
Peach is the first thing com come to
mind dried guava a lot I used to buy
dried guava a lot of times especially
when I lived in Asia that’s what this
reminds me of but it’s so deep and it’s
smokiness which I like so much complex
wine mineral driven wine but it has kind
of the sweetness of the sweetened dried
fruit flavor so I think it could pull
people in a little bit all these wines
are way different there a little bit of
grass on the back end which I like it’s
super complex this grape has high
acidity I know this region is trying to
make a crw system try to make the wines
more prestigious cuz they used to be
cheap in the past I think this is super
complex it’s long it’s really focused
you get a lot of the dried fruit and the
acidity going down the spine it’s
extremely long dried fruit in acidity
down the center but on the the sides
that’s where you get the dried fruit
flavors a lot of these simple white
wines I say you know they’re fun with
porch siippers or to pair with some food
some seafood some maybe chicken type
dishes this is a wine that I’m still
tasting I think you got to taste and
just drink it on its own I am also 93
plus probably the same level as the
fiano this is a great Vari of wine I
never used to be so huge on from the
venetto actually the Veneto in Italy the
region where Venice is the capital
produces the most wine in Italy X even
though it’s so far North you would think
it maybe be sisly or Pula the grape is
called gargona it’s the main grape of
suave this is the peran aloka 2020 this
is not a cheap wine comes in at 50 bucks
I know peran they make a basic entry
level Suave that’s also good I think
it’s around 25 bucks I think this wine
is outstanding 2020 it’s something that
I want to meditate on and I just think
it’s delicious so tell me how many of
these white wine grapes have you tried
in delay do you like white wines you
better if you like the channel I’ll see
you guys
soon