I know very little about them. For years I have focused on red wines of the big and bold varieties. Ive collected and drank everything from cdp to Cali fruit bombs and I was content doing that until I caught the Champagne bug a few years ago, and from there unoaked chardonnay and ultimately white Burgundy. As it turns out I enjoy my reds massive and oaky and my whites the opposite. These are, of course, generalizations about my own palate.
I was never crazy about Italian reds in general, so I never even thought about the whites…
Last week I took my 9 year old daughter to NYC for three days to catch a few shows and some real food (I live in the middle of nowhere in PA) and my boss, who happens to have a similar palate was in NYC with his wife and kid as well. We met for lunch at Otto and asked the somm for a minerally white and a pinot. The pinot was forgettable but the white was a 2014 Brovia Arneis. We both found the nose intoxicating with lots of dried flowers and minerals. And the palate had all kinds of fruity intentions but finished very minerally as well. In short, we were smitten. I ran down to Astor after and picked up a case to split.
We decided then and there that we should explore Italian whites. I was surprised to see the lack luster notes on the Brovia on ct btw.
So…where do we begin? Any ideas or thoughts would be much appreciated!
Good arneis is interesting, as you discovered. Many or sort of bland, unfortunately. Vietti, which helped revive the grape when it was all but abandoned, does a good job with it, too.
I love lots of verdicchios, vernacchias and vermentinos. They all tend to have good acidity and real minerality.
German grapes such as riesling and sylvaner yield some very interesting dry wines in the Alto Adige.
Germano and Vajra – very good Barolo producers – make excellent dry rieslings that are worth searching out.
If you want to try something unusual, check out Paolo Bea’s Santa Chiara, which is a blend of grapes with lots of body and concentration, but good balance.
Thanks John. Any specific producers for verdicchios, vernacchias and or vermentinos to seek out first?
Sorry for the spellchecking, but it’s Vernaccia. 
Another interesting option from the Piemonte region is Favorita.
It may not be a varietal destined to make wines of greatness, but I have enjoyed every single example I’ve ever tried. Sorry I don’t have any producer suggestions as I always had it in the context of a larger tasting or picking it off a restaurant wine list. The good news is that it’s generally pretty affordable.
As for Italian whites:
- in Piedmont, the Timorasso is a very interesting variety with potential for aging - Walter Massa is the best known producer and a worth starting point;
- Cortese, and its expression in Gavi, gives lighter, refreshing whites;
- Friuli offers a lot, but I know nothing about them (other than a few names);
- Irpinia, with its Fiano and Greco is also worth exploring (Pietracupa, Vadiaperti, Benito Ferrara, Ciro Picariello);
- Etna whites (Carricante) are as interesting as the reds - I found the Terre Nere Bianco very nice.
That is all what I could quickly type before Tvrtko will step in and tell you all you need to know 
Just had the 2014 Giacosa arneis last night and recommend seeking it out.
I strongly second the recommendation for Benito Ferrara Greco di Tufo. I also liked the Terre Nere bianco if not as much as the Ferrara. It’s been a few vintages since I last tried one, but I really liked the Pieropan soaves.
None of the wine above should cost more than $25.
Which is another name for Pigato in Liguria. And also known elsewhere as Vermentino.
Many of the Piemonte Favoritas I’ve liked quite a lot. Not as good as most Ligurian Pigatos,
but better than most other Italian Vermentinos. The Tuscan Vermentinos I find particularly dull. Some of the Sardinian ones can be good…in a rustic/earthy kind of way.
The Piemonte Arneis are typically quite good. I’m less impresed w/ their Cortese.
And they grow Timarasso that can be excellent.
Tom
In particular to the Piemonte whites mentioned above, there a lot of very good whites from AltoAdige
and, particularly, Friuli. The RibollaGialla and Friuliano (formerly known as Tokay Friuliano) can be excellent. Even the lowly regarded PinotGrigio (thank you, SantaMargarita, for trashing that grape) from Friuli can be quite good. One caution is that sometimes the Friulian whites are made w/ skin-contact and can be a bit
on the phenolic side. And whilst your in the area of Friuli…you should step across the border into Slovenia to find many similar wines.
Tom
20 years ago Italian whites were mostly ignored, arguably rightly as the aim often seemed to be for neutral ‘food wines’. There are some wonderful wines now.
In Piemonte I’d probably choose Cortese and Timorasso over Arneis myself, but if arneis appealed that much, then stick with it and try some Favorita. Erbaluce is another to try if you’re feeling like exploring.
Vermentino might be a good next stop off from Liguria or Tuscany
Garganega is the star in Soave, a region that re-found it’s soul
T-A-A and Aosta for more alpine whites, Friuli for the weird sh*t ![[stirthepothal.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f40faec63ca1018898a40805efbf9f0066a3d205.gif "[stirthepothal.gif]"){kind=small}
. Trentino even plays host to a very good muller-thurgau ![[swoon.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f425e8dac3e7344bee264da02e55428971be23a9.gif "swoon"){kind=small}
Then a big jump down to Campania with Fiano, Greco, plus some lesser seen but still worthy grapes e.g. Biancolella, and onto Sicily which when it doesn’t linger with international grapes, has some very interesting native grapes.
Lots of fun to explore. Plenty to enjoy
Damn. Thats a lot of grapes. I guess Im going to start with Piemonte and work out from there. So in Piemonte Ive got Ribolla, Friulano, Cortese, Timorasso and Favorita. Seems like a good starting point so far
I’m surprised to learn the CT notes on Brovia Arneis are so ambivalent. I love the wine.
I also love Italian whites - the variety of profiles and versatility at table are remarkable. When I have customers who come in with white wine dishes they want to pair, I find myself going to this section more often than not. The range of good acidity, varied flavors, and non-oaky body make this, for me, the most underrated wine category.
The way I learned about Italy was going from region to region. Started with the Vallée d’Aosta and worked my east slowly East and South from there. Looked up suggested food pairings and taught myself something about cooking, too. There are a lot of fun, individual grapes to encounter along the way.
Ha. Or you coukd start in Piedmont. Check out the related local cuisine, though, whatever region you’re drinking.
Try Montenidoli Vernaccia di San Gimignano Tradizionale or Fiore. You can get them from Rob Panzer (he’s on WB). Not expensive (ca $15 or $22 resp.). I have no relationship, just like these wines.
PS I’ve had some good Arneis too, by G. Almondo
Indeed Alto Adige has a lot of great whites (Pinot Bianco, Silvaner, Kerner, Gewuerztraminer) and quite a few fantastic producers, including cooperatives.
Here are some of my favorite italian whites:
-
Jermann Vintage Tunina, which is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, Picolit. It is from Venezia Giulia and a bit pricey ($45 or so) but worth it. Anything from Jermann is worth checking out
- From Alto Adige, Alois Lageder makes a bunch of white varietals. I like their Pinot Grigio from the Porer vineyard, which is a bit rich but an interesting wine.
-
Pieropan Soave Classico, from the Garganega grape. If you get Soave, ensure it Classico.
-
Villa Bucci Riserva Di Verdicchio Classico, which you guessed is made from Verdicchio. From Marche region.
-
Elena Walchand Colterenzio make a chardonnay which is light and mineral driven and certainly nothing like Cali chard!
- An interesting grape variety from Alto Adige is kerner. I enjoy the aromatics and offbeat, spicy taste. I stock up on Abbazia di Novacella Kerner
- A light, sweet and slightly fizzy wine is Massolino Moscato d’Asti. It’s a fun wine that will please most people. Ensure you get a DOCG Moscato d’Asti.
Have fun exploring Italian whites!
Salute!
I agree with many of the posts above. It is hard to beat Italy for inexpensive, but nice white wine. If you reach out to Rob Panzer for Montenidoli Vernaccia (traditional or Fiore), make sure you also get some Collestefano Verdicchio and maybe Tiberio Trebbiano Fonte Canale or Pecorino
Armeis, good Soave (garganega), among others, are worth checking out too.
Soave. Great examples from Pieropan, Ca Rugate, Pra, Suvia and Tamellini but none achieve the greatness that the wines from Inama achieve.
Not a massive consumer of Italian whites but enjoy them every now and then. From the last year I can remember two quite enjoyable examples:
Ermes Pavese Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle: A really minerally, pure and crisp wine from Valle d’Aosta.
Azienda Agricola Longariva Pinot Bianco Pergole: An elegantly powerful, minerally and spicy expression of the grape from Trentino, the sommelier’s very nice recommendation for a lobster dish at the fabulous Osteria a Le Due Spade in Trento
For the style you’re looking for, there are so many options in Italy that it won’t all be covered in this thread. The suggestions to start exploring region by region make sense to me. There are a few ideas I’ll second because they came to mind first.
From Campania, try some Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo. Feudi di San Gregorio and Mastroberardino both make really good whites (the latter makes tremendous reds too, but the former’s reds can be too modern for my taste). To me, Greco is more mineral, while Fiano, which I would compare more directly to Arneis, is very waxy. From Alto Adige, I always have to recommend Abbazia di Novacella Kerner, because I think it’s one of the greatest values in white wine from anywhere. It’s significantly more aromatic than Arneis, with intense aromas of flowers and fruit, but there is also a strong sense of minerality to the wine.