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