You might expect the natural forte of a peninsula surrounded on all sides by the Mediterranean to be its white wines. Until recently though, Italian wine was better known for great rosso. When we thought of Italian white, it didn’t take too long because it amounted to little more than soave, frascati and lambrusco (although the best lambruscos are in fact red). More recently, lambrusco lost its dubious place to pinot grigio, whose blandness has helped to make it so ubiquitous that, like the umpteenth cover of a pop hit, we have the German, the Hungarian, the Argentinian, the American, the Australian and the New Zealand version. If the product had been worth protecting, like champagne, the Italians might have tried, but it would have been akin to slapping a preservation order on McDonalds.

The kindest cut

If you can see your way past pinot grigio, variety is the spice of Italian white wine life. What, no decent pinot grigio? That would be unfair. There are some, like the Alto Adige’s refreshingly appley 2007 San Michele-Appiano Pinot Grigio, £8.99, Waitrose, and juicily zingy 2007 Alois Lageder Pinot Grigio, £9.99, Booths, but most are overshadowed by superior north east pinot bianco and tocai. Patrizia Felluga’s 2007 Zuani Vigne Bianco, Collio, £13.95, Lea & Sandeman, www.londonfinewine.co.uk, is citrus-zesty, full-flavoured yet elegant, the 2007 Visintini Friulano, £9.95, Lea & Sandeman, an aromatic, crisply defined, risotto friendly tocai. In the north west, there’s gavi such as the citrusy, dry Tesco’s Finest 2007 Gavi, £6.99, or, more memorably, the rich yet beautifully balanced, apricoty 2007 Gavi di Gavi, Vigneti Montessora, around £13.49, Corks Out, Cheshire (01925 267 700), SWIG, www.swig.co.uk, Wimbledon Wine Cellar (020 7736 2191).

With its head in the Alpine and Dolomite clouds, it’s no surprise that many of Italy’s white wines are at their best in the cool north, but thanks to changing attitudes and technology, central and southern Italy and the islands are making a greater contribution than ever before to the unique diversity of Italian native grape whites wines. And barely a chardonnay in sight. From central Italy, the grechetto’s fresh, unoaked juiciness in a dry white like the 2007 Grecante Grechetto dei Colli Martini, £12.95, Lea and Sandeman, fits the bill perfectly, as does verdicchio in the 2007 Casal di Serra Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore £11.47 Christopher Piper Wines (01404) 814139). From Molise, try the crafted, textured peachiness and clean lines of the 2007 Falanghina Rami, Di Majo Norante, around £8.55, Les Caves de Pyrène, Guildford (01483 554750), The Smiling Grape, St Neots (01480 403100), Ex Cellar, Ashtead (01372 275247).

Falanghina, fiano and greco do tufo are the exciting triumvirate of white grapes bringing delicious fish-friendly drinking from the Italian south. Basilicata’s volcanic Terra di Vulcano brings to the 2007 Bisceglia Falanghina Benevento Terra di Vulcano, around £7.99, M&S Wine Direct (Le Cortiglie Label), Elixir Fine wines (07956 327 824), Lindley Fine Wines, Huddersfield (01484 653 888), Grapeland (01923 284436), a subtly flavoured , fresh approachability with an appealing touch of honey; the 2007 Cutizzi Greco di Tufo, Feudi di San Gregorio, £16.99, AG Wines (020 7266 4777), delivers gorgeously seamless stonefruit flavours, touched by oak with a refreshingly citrusy, mouthwatering acidity. The 2007 Vesevo Greco di Tufo, £10.99, Majestic, liquoricey, rich, honeyed, with a refreshing twist of acidity is yet another successful example.

And Sicily? It’s the new home of walk on the wild side whites like the 2007 Donnafugata Vigna di Gabri, Inzolia, around £15.95, Corks of Cotham, Bristol (0117 973 1620), Free Run Juice, Newquay (01872 510037), Noble Green Wines, richly concentrated and apricot-like, balanced old vine fruit, the extraordinarly rich and complex 2007 Planeta Cometa Fiano, £25, Majestic Fine Wine, one for baked sea beam, or, from the slopes of Etna, Benanti’s remarkable 2004 Pietramarina Etna Bianco Superiore, £28, Les Caves de Pyrène, Guildford, a dry white made from pure carricante that zings and bites, with tongue-tingling lemony freshness and minerality. Pinot grigio? Stick to bianco and you won’t go far wrong. www.anthonyrosewine.com.

Something For the Weekend 28 March 2009

Under a Fiver

2008 Gran Tesoro Viura.

The Viura grape may not represent the pinnacle of Spain’s contribution to great white wine, but when it’s as well-made, fresh pear-flavoured and juicy as this unoaked example from Campo de Borja is, it can offer some of the best value white wine drinking around. And does. £3.49, Tesco

Under a Tenner.

2008 Yalumba Pewsey Vale Riesling, Eden Valley, Australia.

This classic dry Aussie riesling made by Luisa Rose displays aromatically distinctive scents of lemon, lime and herb, showing zingy fresh tropical citrus fruit zestiness with the full-bodied fruit and dry aftertaste that makes this an ideal partner for mild curried dishes. £9.99, or £7.99 bottle / case, Oddbins

Splash Out

2006 Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay, Nelson, New Zealand.

Magnificently opulent chardonnay with the stylish pure fruit quality and complexity of a white Burgundy in the riper spectrum such as a fine meursault, but the extra dimension of tropical fruit, citrusy acidity and power spells New Zealand and more specifically, Nelson on South island. Around £30, Philglas & Swiggot, Battersea / Richmond (020 7924 4494), WoodWinters, Bridge of Allen (01786 834894), Must Wines, Thornhill (07858748178), Andrew Wilson Wines, Staffs (01782 372888).