What is the blueprint to success for Italian whites?

Speaking to consorzi, producers and wine buyers, Sarah Neish discovers how Italy can ensure its white wines stay competitive in a crowded market.

If white wine were a bird right now, it would be a strutting peacock, proudly displaying a fan of elaborate plumage in a riot of colours, and making other categories look positively grey in comparison.

The global white wine market was valued at a healthy US$49.43 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$85.66bn by 2032, with a CAGR of 6.3% from 2024 to 2032. For precisely this reason, producers around the world are renewing their focus on whites, and Italy is no exception.

According to Valoritalia, the leading certification body in the Italian wine supply chain, global sales of Italian white wines were up 2.7% in 2025. So the needle (or the peacock feather) is pointing in the right direction. But in a crowded market dominated by Pinot Grigio, how can Italy’s diverse white wine producers secure space on retail shelves and restaurant wine lists? db speaks to consorzi, producers and UK wine buyers to find the winning formula.

What do consumers want from Italian whites?

For Beans Boughton MW, buyer at UK importer and distributor Alliance Wine, the magnetism lies in the sheer diversity Italy can offer. “For fragrant, zesty, dry whites, no other country offers the variety that Italy does, from well-known regions like Gavi and Soave to strong varieties like Vermentino in the north and Grillo and Catarratto in the south,” he says.

Boughton has seen Italian white wine sales grow by 5% at Alliance in the last six months, the highest growth Alliance has seen in its whites. And it is far from alone in this, as at Berkmann Wine Cellars, Italy is also “outperforming” the rest of the white wine category, with head of buying Emma Dawson MW noting an 8% sales uptick in the last 12 months. For Dawson, the temptation lies not only in Italy’s tremendous diversity of styles, but also in its reliability in a changing climate.

“I do find Italian entry-level whites more reliable than most countries, especially when compared to Spain, where climate change is having a greater impact on its styles,” she says. “At the mid-market to premium end, I think there is also more consciousness to move vintage in a timely manner, which has had a really positive impact on the Italian white category.”

Certainly, price has a role to play in the success story of Italian whites, with Dawson arguing that they “offer terrific value at all quality levels. It is probably this breadth of price points where Italy can offer more than other countries, except potentially for France”.

However, consumers aren’t just looking for great value when it comes to choosing a white wine. They are gravitating towards Italy because it can offer something they can’t get anywhere else. In addition to classic international varieties like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Italy has a whole antipasti board of characterful indigenous grapes. “A lot of consumers tend to look to Italy for what is uniquely Italian,” says Molly Newport, senior wine buyer for Ellis Wines in West London. “For me, this is the beauty of what the country has to offer, and it could be tapped into more.”

Or, as Roberta Bricolo, president of DOC Custoza in the Veneto, puts it: “Today’s consumers want wines that are enjoyable, but not anonymous.” Compared with other countries, Bricolo claims: “Italy has white wine appellations that are deeply rooted in their territories and not easily replicated elsewhere.”

At UK distributor Enotria, acquired last year by Majestic, Italy wine buyer Nella Alberti has noticed that restaurants are strengthening their by-the-glass offerings of Italian whites, and she believes that indigenous grapes have helped facilitate this, allowing Italy to “stand apart from other premium whites around the globe, giving consumers a sense of place that really resonates”.

Alberti highlights, for example, the renaissance of the ancient Italian white native grape Timorasso, known for producing age-worthy, mineral-driven wines with high acidity, as one of her most memorable discoveries.

“Italian white wines offer a true luxury experience for consumers who prioritise terroir-driven complexity, elegance, age-worthiness and artisanal craftsmanship,” Alberti explains. “From the Alpine clarity of Trentino to the volcanic intensity of Etna, these wines give our customers the chance to elevate their wine lists. They are stories in a glass.”

Luca Raccaro, president of Consorzio Tutela Vini Collio in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, could not agree more. “The consumer wants an experience, not just a liquid,” he says. “They choose Italian whites when they want a wine that tells a story about the Italian landscape and cuisine, rather than a wine that simply tastes the same year after year.” Ultimately, as Alliance Wines’ Boughton wisely points out, “the A-Z of Italian white varieties offers every wine drinker the opportunity to keep exploring”.

Key takeaways: Consumers are looking for indigenous Italian grapes at compelling price points.

Myths to dispel

There are, however, a few myths about Italian whites that still need to be dispelled, as well as a tangled web of appellation messaging that can leave consumers befuddled. “One of the biggest misconceptions is that Italian white wine is either basic Pinot Grigio or impossibly complicated because of the number of appellations,” says Marco Scarinci, export director, Mack & Schuhle Italia. “In reality, the category sits somewhere in between: there are accessible entry wines at one end, and some of Europe’s most distinctive and age-worthy whites at the other. The challenge is helping consumers navigate that spectrum.”

Berkmann’s Emma Dawson thinks that the average consumer “sees Italy as a ‘safe bet’ when looking for a wine to fit in the dry white and lightly aromatic profile without intense fruit character”. However, she adds that the nation’s winemakers still have the ability to surprise within that remit, with Dawson seeing increased interest in varieties like Carricante and Verdicchio “that still fit within that same stylistic theme”.

Much work is also being done to squash the idea of Italian whites being short-lived wines for immediate consumption. According to Collio’s Luca Raccaro, it is one of “several entrenched preconceptions regarding Italian white wines that act as a glass ceiling for producers who are trying to move their products into the premium and fine wine categories”.

He is concerned that Italian whites have become synonymous with “inexpensive, high-volume Pinot Grigio”, and adds that “many buyers view Italian whites as the default choice for a cheap, unpretentious house wine”. It is fundamental, he says, “to point out that Italy possesses ancient viticultural wisdom and unique soil profiles (like the ponca marl in Collio) that allow white wines to evolve for a decade or more”.

While Collio makes a fair bit of Pinot Grigio, Raccaro refers to the grape as “a central commercial asset” and stresses that Collio aims to use it as “a key to understanding the land, its production choices and the wine’s stylistic maturity”.

Despite any potentially unappealing association, Mack & Schuhle Italia’s Scarinci cautions against throwing the baby out with the bathwater. “Pinot Grigio is still the most powerful gateway to Italian white wine internationally. It remains extremely strong in the off-trade because it offers clarity, reliability and accessibility for consumers,” he says. “Where the momentum is shifting is in the on-trade, where diners are discovering the likes of Lugana, Soave, Verdicchio, Vermentino and the Alpine wines of Alto Adige and Friuli. That’s where consumers are discovering the real depth and diversity of Italian white wine.”

Raccaro concurs that the restaurant scene is where Italian whites truly shine. “The wines possess acidity and salinity that make them arguably the most versatile wines in the world for global cuisines, including spicy Asian dishes, sushi and vegetarian/fusion cuisine,” he says.

Meanwhile, Berkmann’s Dawson predicts that, “as restaurants move to more regionally-specific Italian food offerings, customers will also enjoy tasting wines alongside food from the same place, whether that be Sicily or Sardinia”.

According to Wolfgang Klotz, sales and marketing director for Cantina Tramin in Alto Adige, “a new global perception [of Italian whites] is being formed through collaborations with a highly trained generation of restaurateurs”. Beans Boughton points to one good example of this: the single-vineyard, high-altitude Pecorino wine Casadonna, a joint venture between Feudo Antico in Abruzzo and the three Michelin-starred Italian chef Niko Romito. “I believe Italian whites are only at the beginning of their journey toward being recognised as great, long-lived wines,” Klotz adds.

The thorny appellation issue requires a little more consideration. While Boughton believes that “the IGT, DOC, DOCG structure, while not without its flaws, generally provides a clear and reliable indication of quality to the consumer, helping them make informed choices about the wines they purchase”, some multi-territory appellations can feel more opaque.

“When a denomination spans a large and diverse territory, the challenge is to convey its value in a way that is immediately and easily understood by consumers,” says Paolo Fiorini, president of the Consorzio Garda DOC, which encompasses 31,100 hectares across 10 other DOCs including Bardolino, Custoza, Valpolicella, Soave, Lugana and more. In the name of unified commuication, Fiorini explains, the appellation chooses to focus on Lake Garda itself, linking the experience of the lake, and Italian lifestyle to the distinctive profile of Garda DOC wines.”

Yes, regional appellations could be simplified, but Klotz argues that “maintaining their complexity is vital”. In Alto Adige, for example, the appellation “reflects a diverse territory ranging from 200m to 900m above sea level, with a wide variety of soil types” that can’t be summarised in a pithy one-liner.

While DOC Sicilia director Camillo Pugliesi agrees that “it is true that appellations covering large territories can appear more complex than more tightly defined areas”, he maintains that they represent an important opportunity “to present Italy as a vast mosaic of territories, grape varieties and styles, while maintaining a shared identity”.

From a buyer’s perspective, striking the right balance is vital.

According to Enotria’s Alberti: “In a restaurant, a sommelier can guide the customer through the appellation and provide context. On shelf it is more complicated. The wine must communicate its story and quality instantly. If the message is unclear, it can create hesitation at the point of purchase, even for a high-quality wine”. In response to this, she tells db, “we are working with our producers to make wine labels more accessible to consumers, while retaining their authenticity and premium nature. For example, we are seeing a rise in Italian wines with the grape variety clearly listed on the label”.

One alternative approach offered by producer and distributor Mack & Schuhle Italia is to home in on flavour rather than place. “Most drinkers start with flavour and occasion, rather than with a denomination,” says Scarinci. “If producers lead with style – for example, crisp, mineral, aromatic or coastal, and then connect that to a place, the appellation becomes part of the story, rather than an obstacle.”

Key takeaways: Communicate how your wines fly in the face of common misconceptions about Italian whites, and consider whether appellation messaging is helping or hindering consumers to comprehend the magic inside the bottle.

What is no longer working that once did?

As the famous phrase goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, and expecting different results. Similarly, to retain a competitive edge in today’s white wine pool, Italian producers must be honest about what no longer serves them.

“In 2026, the Italian wine industry – including white wine producers – is undergoing a profound shift. The era of selling by volume and relying on the general ‘Made in Italy’ label has effectively ended,” says the Collio Consorzio’s Raccaro. “To succeed in the current market, Italian wine companies must move from a production-driven logic to a market-driven one.”

Language too should be customised to suit the consumer rather than the professional wine critic. “Today, more engaging, more direct language is needed. In the past, it may have been enough to rely on communication that was more technical or institutional,” says Custoza DOC’s Bricolo. “More work needs to be done to convey drinking occasions and by-the-glass consumption, and to drive home a concrete narrative of enjoying Italian white wine at the dinner table.”

Maurizio Montobbio, president of the Consorzio Tutela del Gavi, takes this one step further: “Consumers want to understand how a wine fits into their lives: how it is enjoyed, what it pairs with and what kind of experience it offers”. He describes this as being “less postcard, more function and more pleasure”.

Speaking of postcards, Enotria’s Alberti insists that visuals matter just as much as language, and intimates that, while changing your wine label might incur an initial cost outlay, it could pay off. “A good example of clearer, more approachable wine labelling is Planeta’s recent redesign of their La Segreta range,” she says. “By replacing complex historical imagery with bold botanical illustrations inspired by Sicilian flora, the range now communicates origin, style and differentiation instantly at the retail shelf. This change makes it easier for the consumer to understand and make quick purchasing decisions.”

This next one might sound like stating the obvious, but Ellis Wines’ Molly Newport makes the astute observation that no matter how tempting it might be to use a region’s reds as a short-cut to explaining its whites, it can end up being detrimental to the category. “I often encounter whites that are introduced like a background character to the protagonist reds from that region. There needs to be a better effort to communicate what these whites have to offer as standalone wines,” she says.

Finally, Beans Boughton of Alliance Wine urges producers not to lower quality simply to tick every trend off.

“Italy is renowned for its light, lower-alcohol whites, and this has been a significant advantage under the new UK duty regime, but Italy must be cautious not to compromise flavour and satisfaction in the pursuit of even lower ABVs without preserving their inherent quality,” he warns.

Key takeaways: Avoid using technical language, historical imagery or cute “postcard” storytelling to promote your wines, and be sure to enthuse customers about a region’s whites without piggybacking on the success of its reds.

What about price?

In the UK market, Italian white wines are well distributed on the price spectrum, making it possible to find wines that meet different benchmarks and demands. At Berkmann Wine Cellars, the portfolio of Italian whites “ranges from £6.90 to just under £200 (excluding VAT), wholesale”, says head of buying Emma Dawson, who shares the fact that Berkmann’s top-selling Italian white single-varietal wines are Pinot Grigio, Glera and Cortese (Gavi), in that order, with Grillo snapping at their heels having seen an 11% boost in sales year-on-year. The company has also seen demand shoot up 63% for Carricante, and up 64% for Falanghina in this same period, both of which are primarily grown in volcanic soils in Sicily and Campania respectively.

“The temptation is to put all your focus on price, but I think the companies who will come out well from the current conditions will have maintained their long-term focus, without going against their core values, and will have pushed their points of difference and profile in the UK market,” Dawson says. “Globally, white wine is remaining more robust than red, so there is a strong opportunity there, but it will go to the brands that make themselves most distinct and memorable to customers.”

As Camillo Pugliesi, director of DOC Sicilia, explains: “Pricing for Italian wines in international markets is always a delicate issue”, with mixed opinions about the quality-to-value ratio. Perfectly encapsulating this is a difference in opinion between two of the operators db spoke to for this article. While Marco Scarinci of Mack & Schuhle Italia claims that, “in many markets, Italian whites remain very competitive, and in some cases undervalued relative to their quality”, Custoza DOC president Roberta Bricolo has an opposing view. “Some Italian white wines have historically been too competitive on price compared to their real value, and over time this can weaken the positioning of the category,” she said.

For Scarinci, the strongest retail segment “tends to sit between £8–£15, with premium regional wines moving into the £15–£30 bracket, and top expressions well above that. The long-term opportunity for Italy is to build more confidence in the premium tiers”.

Indeed, Alliance’s Boughton proclaims that “not enough buyers, whether commercial or high street, turn to Italy for ultra-premium whites”. He speaks in awed tones about “top-notch Grillo like Rallo’s sea salt-kissed Bianco Maggiore, which deliver enjoyment at Burgundian levels”.

Overall, Boughton says: “Italy is delivering consistently good quality across price points. Partly, this is due to the strong quality focus of UK importers, and partly due to ongoing improvements within the production chain, especially investments in bottling facilities.”

Furthermore, some consorzi find themselves ushered into certain price tiers due to the context required to explain wines made from native grape varieties. “A Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay is immediately recognisable to consumers, whereas, with grapes such as Cortese, it is necessary to guide the narrative, explaining the territory and the style of the wine,” says Tutela del Gavi president Montobbio. Consequently, Gavi in the UK market “shows an interesting positioning within the specialised retail and premium sectors. Gavi is not perceived as an entry-level wine, but neither as a luxury denomination. It occupies a solid middle ground”.

Ultimately, says DOC Sicilia’s Pugliesi, the objective should not be to “enter into a competition solely based on price, but rather to strengthen the perceived value” of Italian whites “by telling the story of the territories, their native grape varieties and the work of their producers”.

Key takeaways: Rather than get enmeshed in the perceived value-to-quality ratio of certain regions or grapes, drinks firms should price according to the strength and storytelling of their product.

In conclusion

Italian whites have been on an epic journey in recent years to reach new heights of quality and intrigue. For Enotria’s Alberti, “it feels like Italian whites are finally finding their voice on the global stage”. However, she draws the distinction that the secret to their success “isn’t just about grape quality – it’s about authenticity, a deep connection to the land and the story in each bottle”.

Summarising the evolution of Italy’s white wines, Boughton believes it’s important to remember that: “In a country with 3,000 years of winemaking history, the unification of Italy is actually a relatively recent development. Regionally, Italy has always had its white wine heroes: Cortese in Piedmont, Garganega in Veneto, Vermentino in Tuscany and Sardinia, Verdicchio in the Marche, Pecorino in Abruzzo, Fiano in Puglia, and Grillo in Sicily.”

He points out that, five years ago, Italy had no Masters of Wine, and now it has four. “It proves that Italy is taking fine wine more seriously beyond the usual suspects. But my guess is that we ain’t seen nothin’ yet…”

Quick buyers’ tips: Italian white wines to watch out for

Molly Newport, senior wine buyer, Ellis Wines: “Pecorino is an interesting one as it is not necessarily well-known by consumers, but offers a great option as something characterful at entry and mid-price points.”

Beans Boughton MW, buyer, Alliance Wines: “My go-to crowd pleaser is Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi – a historic appellation with a truly modern feel, delivering dry-farmed organic whites with freshness and texture at great prices.”

Nella Alberti, wine buyer, Italy, Enotria: “Grapes such as Falanghina and Greco di Tufo from Campania, and Biancolella from the beautiful island of Ischia, are just a few examples of the remarkable breath of Italy’s regional identities. Also Timorasso wines from Piedmont are truly distinctive. I still remember the first sip of an aged Timorasso. It hit me with this rare combination of minerality, texture and brightness that felt both powerful and delicate.”

Emma Dawson, head of buying, Berkmann Wine Cellars: “There are some stunning whites pushing the message that their white wines can be premium quality and ageworthy, such as Historical Verdicchio (Umani Ronchi), Nibbio della Sala or Cervaro (Antinori), Gavi di Gavi Vecchia Annata (Broglia), Contrada Sciaranuova Etna Bianco (Tasca) and Vintage Tunina (Jermann).”