12 Italian WINE grapes YOU should try!!!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

I've launched Channel Memberships! Click the 'Join Button' to see the perks. I'm most excited about a monthly Live Stream Hangout/Tasting for those who join the Grand Reserve tier! The first one in June will have the theme of Italian White Wine, so sign up, bring a bottle, and get ready to have some fun! Thank you so much: www.youtube.com/@drmatthewhorkey/join

[@Blair338RUM]

Great line up Matt and some really great examples. That was a super informative tasting.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Grazie

[@annaralas6998]

Arneis from Roero is one of my Italian favorites, Garganega by Inama Foscarino is the other favorite

[@drmatthewhorkey]

A fantastic producer indeed

[@mattfeltz7262]

You have so many great videos, this is up there with the top. I learned a lot and was really interesting. Has me looking at some of these varietals to buy today. Thanks

[@drmatthewhorkey]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@Fsimo91]

Got 9 right, but i had a strong advantage being italian. Thank you for being so passionate about our winemaking!!

[@numanuma20]

You get some amazing wine. Soave Classico is my favorite.

[@Fsimo91]

@numanuma20 really easy to get great Italian wine, but difficult to find anything from outside Italy, sometimes also difficult to find something even outside your region (I'm in Piedmont). E.g. I still have to try Soave, but I'll do for sure.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Fantastic country and wines!

[@DrinkinItIn]

Great coverage in this episode. I particularly love Vermentino, Soave and Fiano but Grillo, Falanghina, Verdicchio and Vernaccia are shooting up my list of favorites.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahh you know your Italian wines!

[@markantonio1673]

All of them through my wine travels. Friulano for me. Not technical box ticking but hedonistic. Need to get some more

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ohh ur well tasted

[@benoitsouligny863]

Great video love pieropan, really love their calvarinho, tried most grape varietues on theblist exept for the grape from Lazio, but really a Fan of vermentino della gallura!!! Argiolas and a small producer jankara are my favorites

[@robdielemans9189]

So far, Argiolas is my favourite Vermentino producer! It's rare to find a better price to quality ratio. Will go back to the island on September.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Those are two fantastic producers

[@swjmbj]

A great review of Italian whites. I spend time each year in the Dolomites and love the soava (garganega). Here I list a few wines.... ....Sam Miranda Arneis, Michelini Vermentino, Piano Piano Pinot Grigio, Francesco Prosecco, Pizzini Verduzzo, Dal Zotto Garganega (soava), Trimboli Trebbiano, De Bortoli Fiano, Polotini Grecanico. They are all Italian family wineries in the Australian Victorian Alpine Valleys, my home terrritory. We have been enjoying Italian white for decades.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahhh some nice wines there!

[@2bad2badPA]

I'm delighted that I've tasted 9 (only Carricante, Spoleto, and Bellone are still ahead for me). Made it a goal a couple of years ago to buy and taste as many Italian varieties that I could in one year (recommend that to anyone who wants to broaden their palate). Great Italian whites that didn't make Matthew's list: Arneis (Piedmont); Gewurtztraminer (yes, that's a native Italian grape from Tramin in Alto Adige); Greco di Tufo (Campania); Glera (that's Prosecco that you've all tasted). I'm still looking to try Vernaccia di San Gimignano (Tuscany) and Orvieto (Umbria).

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Nicee!! All those wines you mentioned are also good

[@MadAuralSkills]

Great video! For anyone who’s lost the spark that only comes from tasting new and exciting wines, Italian whites are an excellent place to reignite it. I’ll have to try Pecorino soon. Another type worth exploring, though difficult to find, are the whites from Ischia, especially those produced from the Biancolella grape.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

You hit the nail on the head

[@peterbourke1697]

Matty you absolutely nailed this one! I was fortunate (worked hard though 😂) to attend the VinItaly International Academy last year and passed the exams to become an Italian Wine Ambassador. I was so stoked to watch this video, awesome selection and your descriptions of each wine were spot on, thanks for sharing !!!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Congrats! That is a tough exam. I’ve been on several VIA trips in the past.

[@LadyAceRoxy]

I’ve tried all of these but the Spoletino, though I’ve only ever had Bellone as part of a Frascati Blend. Fiano is amazing.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Fiano is AMAZING!

[@stbu900]

Absolutely great line up. Very educational! Thank you! (please allow a remark: on the third sicilian one - carricante? or cataratto? or are those the same?)

[@drmatthewhorkey]

They are different varieties :)

[@solomonmengeu1003]

I enjoyed this fun tasting video, it was nice change from the more "serious" blind tasting videos. Alas, though with 350 white varietals scattered across Italy and with one region having 2 or 3 main white wine grapes it was hit and miss. I think I got 6 or 7 right and I believe besides the Bellone and the Trebbiano Spoletino I have tried all of them once or twice. I didn't know that Pinot Blanc/Bianco is grown in Burgundy, so #9 was a curve ball for me. Yes, Italian whites deserve greater recognition, I'm just glad that they are still under the radar; it keeps prices low. 😄 Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige, particularly the skin contact/ramato wines can be great; though there are lakes of mediocre PGs from Italy. Cheers!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Cheers! Yes Pinot Blanc is a Burgundian variety :)

[@luisfelipecanever9505]

Great video! I drinking a lot of whites recently and the Italian ones are some of the best. I love Etna bianco, fiano, vedicchio dei castelli de jesi and northern whites in general, but the Friulano and other friuli wines have a sentimental thing to me. My great-great grandfather is from friuli and I look forward to knowing the region.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahhh that’s awesome. It’s a wonderful region!

[@jameswingad3212]

Funnily enough I had the La Rocca 2020 with Vitello Tonnatto just last week. It was utterly brilliant but it is expensive. I´m yet to try Spoletino but like most of the others with Vermentino and Caricante my favourites. I love Vermentino for its ability to make wines of such varied styles even in a really warm climate. Funnily enough when I was in Rome with a mushroom dish I had a similar experience to the M&S buyer though I still don´t really think of Italy for white but I do live in Germany...

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ohhh what a a pairing!

[@mattpassin1701]

My favorite video of yours, do French or Spanish white wine next!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Thanks. There are several on the channel like this esp France

[@nikiseminara4345]

I am so happy that you have tasted a Bellone, a little known variety that produce e very very interesting wines. Grazie da parte di un italiano

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Grazie a mille

[@alekskoozynski8586]

I loved this video & tasteing - thank you for that! My favorites from the video would be Carricante (Alta Mora and Planeta are just excellent), Verdicchio (I love the di Matelica appelation) and, in no particular order, Fiano, Cortese (Minaia from Nicola Bergalgio!), Garganega, Pecorino... OK, I really like most of them... Curious if you like Timorasso - Derthona from Vignieti Massa is probably the best reasonably priced (ca. EUR 20) Italian white wine I've had. Cheers!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

You will see a Timorasso video in the future ;)

[@piantaluich]

Great selection. I live in Italy but I still haven't tried the trebbiano from puglia, and the bellone. Also everything is 10$ cheaper here so, good for me. One variety that's pretty unique is grechetto from Umbria very neutral, Chardonnay like, but more of a brown pear aroma. It was always quite enjoyable.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Grechetto is unique indeed. Has a touch of bitterness which is unique

[@certisko1]

Superb line up. I realy like Soave Monte Carbonare and Classico from Suavia. From South Italy Insoglia or Grillo from Sicily and also Greco di Tufo from Campania. But I want to taste more white wines from Italy. I'm going to try Cococciola, Pecorino, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Catarratto and hopefully something from Orvieto.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Happy hunting!

[@AlejandroPDX]

Wow that looked like a fun tasting! I’ve only had a Gavi and (not in the video) but a Chardonnay from Piedmont

[@drmatthewhorkey]

It was fun indeed!

[@welshtoro3256]

Great timing Matt. I just opened a fantastic white Italian for lunch and it cost £12.99 sterling. 'It is a Vernaccia di San Gimignano which is a native grape variety to this very small DOCG in Tuscany. This was the very first DOC in Italy which was granted in 1966, becoming the superior version of DOCG in 1993.' - Noble Grape. How cool is that? I bought it just because of that but it's a cracking little wine.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Nice! Thank you for your support and I agree it’s such a cool grape and a cool region. I was supposed to be there as we speak but schedule conflicts!

[@carlcadregari7768]

Nice video!! I’ve had them all, (Italian Wine Scholar 😎) and of these Etna Bianco but with a higher percentage of catarratto is my preference. The Bellone I had was a sparkling, Marco Carpineti Kius. Nice fiz, but for the $$ I’ve had nicer Franciacorta. Cheers!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Cheers!

[@jlynn1304]

In my small city 90% of the Italian whites on the shelf are Pinot Grigio which are meh to me. But I recently found a bottle of Ca Dei Frati which is Trebbiano. Very nice wine!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Nice!!!

[@ArnoldToporowski]

love Italian whites! especially Fiano, Garganega, and Pecorino. such bargains too! I also recently had the pleasure of finding the Pieropan La Rocca on a restaurant wine list in Limone Sul Garda at a price point lower than in the store at home 👍. One of my other favourite Italian whites is the Jermann Vintage Tunina, but It doesn’t really fit your theme, being a blend of varietals.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ohhhh you are a wine geek!

[@ArnoldToporowski]

@@drmatthewhorkey😊

[@robdielemans9189]

Great video. I guessed correctly the Fiano, Vermentino, (Etna Bianco, didn't know the name, but knew it was from that region, also outstanding rosés) and the Pecorino. I, as of yet, never had any Bellone and Trebbiano Spoletino. Currently I'm having a lot of fun with Alto Adige/Südtirol gewürztraminer and I also like Moscato Giallo dry from the same region.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ohhh yes Gewurtz from AA can be stellar

[@brigodoro]

Hello, if you want to try the best Gavi look for Nicola Bergaglio. Only 2 wines produced the Gavi (white label) and the Gavi "Minaia" (black label) single vineyards from the area of Rovereto di Gavi, wich is considered to be the best area for Cortese. Drink it now or leave them in the cellar for 5 to 10 years (the best vintages) and you would'nt believe how good they evolved with time, you just need to be patient but the reward worth the wait.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

💪🏼💪🏼🙏🙏🙏

[@Briax89]

I really like Grillo and zibibbo.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahhh nice varieties indeed. Zibbibo is actually Muscat of Alexandria.

[@juanito2109]

Derthona Timorasso and Roero Arneis!!! Best whites in Italy!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

You will see a video on one of those 😬

[@benoitsouligny863]

Have a casale de giglio tempranillo , really curious toi try lazio tempranillo.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

😮😮

[@mikaelplaysguitar]

Great video! I have a LOT of homework to do. I'm going to Milano/Monza in a couple of weeks, which high acid white wine should I order in the restaurants? Anyone in particular you think will be a safe bet?

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Lugana

[@stroopwafel6141]

I think you do a lot of winelovers a favour with this informative vid, because Italian white wines are a bit of challenge for average wineconsumers. I never bought much Italian whites after drinking bland Frascati, Est!EST!!Est!!!, Orvieto and Soave. About a decade ago I rediscovered (serious) Soave Classico. And then followed Friuliano (Ronchi di Manzano imc). On holidays I had some very nice Grillo's, Pecorino's and Trebbiano's. I care less for Etna Bianco. And Alto Adige, yes good stuff there, but imo too expensive.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

🙏🙏🙏 Italy doesn’t make it easy on anyone when it comes to wine ahhaha

[@joedobbins870]

Falanghina is great!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

It can be!

[@mattestilo8841]

Ooh, I had 10 out of 12

[@drmatthewhorkey]

💪🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@brigodoro]

Some other interesting grapes are Prie' blanc Val d'Aosta - Lumassina Liguria - Carica l'asino Piemonte , yes that is the grape name, it litterally mean "load the donkey" !!!!!!!!!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Italy is full of them!