Italian White Wines

I’ve been a fan of Etna bianco’s, fiano, Greco di tufo and Percorino mostly cause they go well with seafood and lighter fare.

Cristiana Tiberio’s Pecorino and Trebbiano are screaming good values for ~$20

I love Italian whites. I think they are among the best values in wine. I’d check out some of these to start:

Soave - Pra, Inama, Pieropan
Arneis - Vietti
Verdicchio - Collestefano
Vernaccia - Montenidoli
Pecorino and Trebbiano from Tiberio as Dennis said.
Carricante - Terre Nere

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Just had a catarratto for the first time - pretty tasty. It seemed somewhere between Chardonnay and Carricante.

I haven’t tasted any Erbaluce yet, but here is a list of Italian whites that I’ve been consistently buying and enjoying:

Northern Italy
Nicola del Negro Muscat Chambave - Vallée d’Aoste
Matteo Correggia Roero Arneis
Tabarrini Adarmando - Umbria (100% Trebbiano Spoletino)

Central Italy
Monastero Suore Cistercensi Coenobium - Lazio (45% Trebbiano,35% Malvasia, 20% Verdicchio)

Southern Italy
Mastroberardino Fiano di Avellino Radici
Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco (60% Carricante, 25% Catarratto, 10% Grecanico, 5% Minnella)
Graci Etna Bianco (70% Carricante, 30% Catarratto)

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Hi Joshua,

We import a small amount of Kin Erbaluce di Caluso into Australia. Very low yielding fruit is harvested ripe and spends time in stainless steel before 18 months in large format French oak from Allier and then 6 months in concrete. It is matured for 2 years in the cellar before release and is built for further aging. The 2015 and 2016 are worth seeking out.

Famous Italian dramatist Giuseppe Giacosa, once lived on this estate. He collaborated on the texts for La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly.

Cheers
Jeremy

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This is one of the broadest topics I have ever seen here.

I haven’t seen mention of Falanghina, one of my go-tos.
The nice thing about Italian whites is that you can pick up a sampler case w/o breaking the bank.

Yeah, but only about half of the two thousand or so Italian grape varieties are white, so…

Got turned on to Vie Romans in Rome a few years back. Pretty good last night. A copper-colored, funky, complex pinot grigio. Fun, but serious wine.
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Three of my favorites -

Greco
Pigato
Ribolla Gialla

Resurrecting this thread to ask about Carricante…

Tried the Benanti Pietra Marina and fell in love.

Since then I have had the regular Benanti Etna Bianco, the Terre Nere, and the Planeta Eruzione 1614. All fine, but nothing close to the Pietra.

Anyone care to share their options on the next best 1-2 Carricantes currently on the market?

The basic Tornatore is crazy good. Haven’t had their higher end Pietrarizzo.

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Some say Salvo Foti Vigna de Milo. I have a few in the cellar but haven’t tried it yet.

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I had a delicious 2019 Favaro ‘Le Chiusure’ Erbaluce di Caluso two weeks ago. If you’re looking to sample other good Erbaluce you should give it a try.

I drink a lot of Etna Bianco and I honestly haven’t had any that are as stellar as the Benanti Pietramarina.

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2012 on tap for a tasting next week.

I think you should serve it blind. [wink.gif]

Lol. Need to rethink my plans now.

There are probably about 50,000 white wines bottled in Italy every year.

I probably taste about 20 of them.

The best white wine made in Italy is Terlano ‘Vorberg’ Pinot Bianco Riserva.

Dan Kravitz

That’s an interesting juxtaposition of sentences.

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