Several readers have asked me to feature lighter white wines for drinking this summer. If you are looking for light wines in general, check out this list of Top Twenty Summer Wines, as featured in the Summer Food Magazine. This week I’m focusing on four fresh lowish-alcohol Italian wines, all priced at €20 or less and all made from indigenous grape varieties.
Pinot grigio is grown elsewhere, but Italy is the world’s largest producer by far, and the Venezie is the heartland of this variety. Less expensive versions can be a little tasteless and sometimes quite sweet, but the Aldi version below avoids both pitfalls.
I have featured wines made from falanghina before. It is found in Campania in southern Italy and may have been the grape used to make the ancient Roman wine Falernian. It is noted as having lightly floral aromas and crisp pear fruits – the wine below is a good example.
Vermentino is generally found in Sardinia and Liguria but is also grown in Piemonte where it goes under the name favorita, in Liguria where it is known as pigato, and France where it is called rolle. It is also very fashionable in Tuscany. In recent years, to the fury of French producers, the Italians persuaded the EU to ban the use of the name vermentino on any non-Italian wine.
Soave is one of the best-known Italian wines. Less expensive versions tend to be a little anodyne, but in the right hands it is a light-bodied, fresh, sophisticated wine with real interest.
Specially Selected Castellore Pinot Grigio dell Venezie 2023
12.5%, €9.99
Light to medium-bodied with juicy ripe pear fruits and a rounded finish. Good summer drinking by itself or with salads and seafood.
From Aldi
Indomito Falanghina del Beneventano 2023
12.5%, €14.50
Fresh and lively with attractive easy green fruits and lemon zest. Try this with lighter seafood such as spaghetti alle vongole or as an aperitivo.
From Little Italy, D7, littleitaly.com.
[ One wine to drink chilled on a warm day, and another to enjoy with cheeseOpens in new window ]
Vermentino di Sardegna Poderi Parpinello Ala Blanca 2022
13.5%, €19.99
Medium-bodied with textured exotic fruits and lemon zest. Try it with prawns or poached salmon.
From The Wine Buff, thewinebuff.com
Giannitessari Soave Classico 2023
12.5%, €20
A very stylish well-priced Soave with racy, clean pear and apple fruits, refreshing citrus notes and a crisp dry finish. Lovely wine. Serve solo or with all kinds of shellfish including oysters and crab.
From Whelehan’s, Loughlinstown, whelehanswines.ie
