NORTHERN ITALY is filled with a beautiful and diverse landscape of vineyards, wines and the families who make them. Earlier this year, as the world began to ease from the pandemic, I journeyed there again, reuniting with winemaking families and delighting in their wines. It invigorated my love for the mélange of white wines from that region.
The summer season is the perfect time to enjoy these lesser-known Italian whites. The popularity grows in the U.S. as the wines become more readily available outside of Italy. Northern Italian whites are ideal partners for traditional summer fare – seafood and fresh vegetables. The top three whites include Gavi, Lugana and Derthona, unique and indigenous to the regions where they are grown.
Gavi. Gavi is a region that sits in the southeastern part of Piedmont, Italy, about 60 miles south of the historic capital city, Turin.
Gavi is the name of the white wine from this region of the same name. It is made from the cortese grape. Lovers of unoaked chardonnay might just gravitate toward Gavi. Villa Sparina Gavi offers medium weight, without being heavy, and a tropical fruit freshness. Gavi is typically stainless steel fermented, though you can find some that have been oak-aging and offer a fuller, rounder style of wine.
Derthona. It is an enigma to many who live outside of Piedmont, unless one is an Italian wine aficionado. Derthona, an ancient name of the town of Tortona, is made from the white grape timarosso, an almost extinct grape variety until about three decades ago. It is still not made by many producers. However, one who is investing in timarosso is Borgogno.
Owned by the Farinetti family, who founded Eataly, Borgogno is one of the oldest wineries in existence. Dating back to the late 1700s, it sits directly in the middle of the tiny village of Barolo, flanked by enotecas, wine stores and small local shops where you can buy local meats, cheeses, fruit spreads and, of course, freshly made Grissini. Borgogno’s winery, with some of the original cement-tank cellars, captivates visitors at every turn.
Borgogno’s Derthona reminds me of the wines Chablis or chenin blanc. It has a bright minerality with a medium body and notes of apricots, apple and citrus fruits. It is a great partner for meaty fish such as swordfish, salmon or tuna. Derthona can age also like a good chardonnay, developing a honey quality with time, and is reminiscent of a French Burgundy.
Lugana. The small region of Lugana sits just south of the famed Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy and most known for many celebrity sightings. With its picturesque rolling hills, Lugana stretches across the borders of the regions of Lombardy and the Veneto, home to the city of Verona. Because of how Lugana snuggles in below Lake Garda, it benefits from the cool breezes coming across the lake and the region’s rocky, pebbly soils.
Lugana wine is known for its bright mineral tones and fresh floral style. For those lovers of sauvignon blanc-style wines, Ca’dei Frati I Frati Lugana, made from the turbiana grape, would be a great alternative. It provides a light-medium weight, prominent notes of almonds, peaches and yellow apple backed by a refreshing acidity. It marries well with oysters, sardines, scallops or cold white bean dishes with sauerkraut and ham.
Jessica Granatiero is the founder of The Savory Grape, a wine, beer and spirits shop in East Greenwich. She can be reached through her website, www.jessicagranatiero.com.
