GRAPEVINE: From Italy With love

We follow on from our last article looking at white Italian grape varieties that you may not have come across, but offer plenty of interest and enjoyment without stretching the budget too far.

Italy boasts several hundred native grape varieties, many of which are worth trying at least once to step away from the familiarity of Pinot Grigio or other ‘international’ white grapes such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.

From the central eastern coast last week, we move west to the centre of Italy locked between Tuscany to the west and Marche to east is Umbria. As with last week, we are looking at a region that had been languishing in a sea of high yielding, international grape varieties that produced passable table wine but nothing particularly interesting or worth tracking down.

After all, if the wine isn’t going to bring anything unique or different to the table then there isn’t much point in looking for it.

The South of Umbria is where most of the best white wines are produced. Orvieto being the most well-known of them. The wines labelled as Orvieto used to be dominated by either international varieties or by the highyielding and often dull Procanico and/or Verdelho, but since 2003 the proportion of Grechetto has been increased to a minimum of 40 per cent in the blend, highlighting the locals appreciation for its quality.

Grechetto has tough thick skins, ripens late with ample sugar levels, and while it can make very good sweet wines as this is one of the few areas in Italy where the noble rot –botrytis can develop, we are focused on the dry whites it can produce.

The volcanic soils, warm days and cool nights help to produce wines with fresh minerally acidity to balance the riper fruit
flavours that can range from pear to stone fruits and sometimes tropical alongside slightly nutty floral notes.

Arnaldo Caprai ($28) is one of the pioneering producers in the region, credited widely with setting a standard for the Sagrantino grape which is the flagship red in Umbria. The high standards carry over to their white wine production too though, they produce a single variety white from Greccheto grown in the southernmost part of Umbria, just below Orvieto. Their approach is to retain the fresh varietal character of the grape by picking, gently pressing and fermenting in stainless steel. It is full-bodied, driven by stone fruit and subtle floral/nutty notes. There is a depth to the mouthfeel but it is kept very fresh and lively by lime driven acidity and a slight chalkiness.