Wines of the week: 7 sensational Italian whites to drink now

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a round-up of some excellent Italian red wines that, for diverse reasons, had not made it into other columns over the past few months.

Now the same goes for a bunch of brilliant white wines from different parts of Italy which have simply not fallen into quite the right brief lately.

But, looking again at these wines, I realised they represent a theme all of their own: they don’t fit into the popular consumer understanding of Italian whites – this is basically confined to the ubiquitous pinot grigio and, just about, verdicchio, which often comes in its distinctive bottles. What we have here is a broader spectrum of grapes and flavours, that show the true regional diversity in Italian whites. We should not be afraid to experiment with unfamiliar names... and, as it happens, most are probably more suited to a British autumn than a sun-baked Italian piazza.

First, a brace of wines from grapes grown on volcanic soils, in which Italy is richly endowed. The Feudi Di San Gregorio Cuttizi Greco di Tufo (£18.54 corkingwines.co.uk) is an exceptional dinner party white made from the greco grape from the rolling hillsides around Naples and where the volcanic soils – this is close to Vesuvius – impart both a clean minerality and lovely, spicy, sometimes smoky texture to the orchard fruit flavours. It’s a special wine for special occasions and I’d drink it with a simply cooked tranche of turbot or john dory with salsa verde, or a shellfish risotto.

Soave is a more familiar name, but seek out wines from the Classico certification zone in the Veneto region of northern Italy, where again, the volcanic soils give a special depth to the garganega grape, such as the Ca Rugate San Michele Soave Classico 2017 (£11.82 wineman.co.uk; £12.42 minimum order six bottles; strictlywine.co.uk) which is delightfully aromatic, with notes of flowers and almonds; for fish, creamy pasta dishes or as an aperitif.

Now for two wines where the twist is provided by high altitude vineyards, which deliver a real freshness and vivacity to white grapes and which I didn’t have room for in my column on high altitude wines a while back. Chardonnay is not normally associated with Tuscany, an area more known for its red grapes, but the Castello Pomino, owned by the Frescobaldi winemaking family, is the highest vineyard in Tuscany on the foothills of the Apennines east of Florence and where the altitude and careful fermentation in oak barrels result in a fresh, but complex wine in the Frescobaldi Castello Pomino Bianco 2018 (£15.61 corkingwines.co.uk; £16.14 greatwinesdirect.co.uk) with an intense floral nose, exotic tropical fruits and a long lingering finish.

Again, this is a special dinner party wine, for elegant fish dishes or, perhaps, a lobster. Moving across the Apennines to the Adriatic coast, the Col del Mondo Sunnae Abruzzo Bianco 2017 (£10.95 tanners-wines.co.uk) comes from the hillsides around Pescara in Abruzzo and is made from a blend of trebbiano, the obscure passerina and some pecorino. It’s a complex white, with a viognier-like nutty, honeyed note underpinning the orchard fruits.

Talking of pecorino, this is a grape that has been getting a lot of attention its own right for its elegant, complex wines, where savoury, nutty flavours are prominent over floral or fruit notes. Therefore while the Abruzzo Pecorino DOC Aimè Cascina del Colle 2016 (£19.53 tannico.co.uk) would be absolutely fine with big fish dishes, it is easily robust enough to be at home with lighter meat dishes, such as rabbit in mustard or perhaps even porchetta – and certainly seasonal game like pheasant or partridge.

Now for a couple of lighter whites which, on a warm Italian evening, might be taken as an aperitif while scrutinising the passeggiata. In the cooler climate of our autumn, they may instead serve as a reminder of summer while scrutinising travel websites. In northwest Italy, in Piedmont, the cortese grape reigns supreme in wines made under the Gavi name. The Banfi Principessa Gavia 2017 (£12.50 mcswiggans.co.uk; £14.89 thedrinkshop.com) is from a vineyard owned by the Mariani family and takes its name from the story of a sixth-century princess whose elopement to a remote village led to the Gavi name and is appropriately elegant, refined, packed with crisp, green apple flavours and very, very dry; just use your imagination to add an ancient piazza, a café and those buzzing motorcycles.

The sprightly whites of Sicily are justly celebrated, but that other Italian island, Sardinia is less well known, despite making some exceptional wines. The Poderi Parpinello Ala Blanca Vermentino di Sardinia DOC 2018 (£13.60 winepoole.co.uk; £13.26; minimum order six bottles strictlywine.co.uk) from vineyards near Alghero in the north of the island, is a lovely, fresh, zingy but distinctive wine, with lemon, tropical fruits and hints of bitter almonds and spice; it’s the kind of wine that just begs for some shellfish or a fish soup. And, in our minds, the glint of the Mediterranean somewhere in the distance.