Why Italian white wine has enormous untapped potential

A recent masterclass held by The Drinks Business at Vinitaly sought to show how Italian white wines are capable of punching well above their weight in the UK market. Here, we dive deeper into why that is.

In the April issue of the drink business we revealed the blueprint to success for Italian white wines, which includes highlighting the use of indigenous grape varieties, streamlining appellation messaging and avoiding using historical imagery on wine labels, among other things.

Following this exploration of Italian whites, which included insight from major consorzi, producers and wine buyers, db held a live masterclass at Vinitaly 2026 to showcase the extraordinary potential of the country’s white wines, and their untapped potential in the UK market.

“Italian whites in the UK are structurally undervalued. So that means that there is much to do to improve their positioning,” opened wine educator and journalist Filippo Bartolotta, who presented the masterclass.

Titled Contemporary Italian White Wine, the session showcased a selection of 12 of Italy’s top white wines, ranging from “zesty” Sicilian Grillo to “floral and herbaceous” Müller-Thurgau from Alto-Adige, in the far north of the country.

“The UK is in the middle of a transformation. The overall data says that UK consumers now drink less frequently and spend more money when they do drink, which is interesting for the Italian wine industry because we have room to get them [British people] to spend a little bit more and to get more value,” noted Bartolotta.

“The US tariffs have also resulted in a diversion towards the UK as though it’s not a new market, it is a more reliable market at the moment.”

From the Mediterranean to the mountains

The first two wines tasted during the masterclass were Casa Grazia’s Zahara Grillo Riserva from Sicily and Feudo Antico’s Casadonna Pecorino from Abruzzo.

“Zahara is an Arabic word for ‘perfume’, and this Grillo is full of aromas of orange flowers and essential oils of limes and lemons,” said Bartolotta of the former wine. “There’s not just acidity here, but salinity too. In the past people didn’t think about white wines from Sicily like this.”

Moving 900 kilometres north to the Adriatic coast of Abruzzo, Casadonna Pecorino is a single-vineyard project co-designed by acclaimed chef and restaurateur Niko Romito and Cantina Tollo. The result is what Bartolotta dubbed “a very different kind of Pecorino” – one which, thanks to its ageing, has a more oxidative, nutty character than more entry level expressions of the variety.

Further northwards still, and Bartolotta explored the border country of Friuli-Venezia Giulia with two wines from Collio DOC.

“Friuli is what I call a digest of the universe. In 60 miles you have the Alpi Carniche, the Alpi Giulie, the pre-alps, the flat plains, the lagoons and the sea. There is everything the natural world has to offer,” he said.

The Bolzicco Collio Friulano and Borgo Conventi Collio Pinot Grigio presented offered two very different expressions of the territory.

“Friulano is a beautiful variety with a subtle floral element, and this particular wine has a certain oiliness to it. It’s edging more towards minerality rather than aromatics,” noted Bartolotta. “The Pinot Grigio is not super light, as it is elsewhere in north-eastern Italy, nor is it the glycerol-heavy style from Alsace, it’s somewhere between the two with this lovely phenolic element present.”

Alpine precision

Heading slightly west to another Italian border, this time with Austria, the Alpine precision of Feldmarschall von Fenner Tiefenbrunner Müller-Thurgau and the Cantina Terlano Pinot Bianco Rarity, both 2013 vintage, was apparent in how well these Alto Adige wines had aged.

“I have opened bottles of these wines going back to the 1960s, and they were phenomenal,” shared Bartolotta. “What the whites from this region have is ageing potential.”

The final pair of wines consisted of expressions which confounded expectations about two of Italy’s most famous sparkling wines: Moscato d’Asti and Prosecco.

Ca’D’Gal’s 2019 Vigna Vecchia served as a powerful demonstration of the ageing potential of top end Moscato d’Asti, spending more than 60 months in the bottle.

“People thought we were crazy to be ageing Moscato d’Asti,” remarked Ca’D’Gal owner and winemaker Alessandro Varagnolo, who was in attendance at the masterclass. “There is actually a tradition of maturing Moscato going back generations. We store our bottles in cases filled with sand to maintain a constant humidity and protect them from vibration.”

“The reason why Prosecco is here,” continued Bartolotta, “is because the statistics for Italian white wine include Prosecco. Glera is Italy’s most-planted white variety, with 39,000 hectares as of 2022, a 223% increase from 2005’s level.”

Although Prosecco is already a huge commercial success in the UK, Le Colture’s Fagher Valdobbiadene DOCG Spumante Brut served as a reminder that not all Prosecco is created equal and that more premium expressions do offer something very different.

Blind tasting

For the final section of the masterclass, Bartolotta led a blind tasting of four Italian whites to demonstrate how different expressions of familiar grape varieties can still surprise wine connoisseurs. Alongside another Grillo from Casa Grazia, a Pecorino from Cantina Tollo and a Moscato d’Asti from Ca’D’Gal, the audience was particularly perplexed as to the identity of one of the wines.

It turned out to be a Sauvignon Blanc, the favourite white grape variety of 41% of British wine drinkers according to one recent survey. This example, Bosco del Merlo’s Turranio Sauvignon Blanc Friuli Grave DOC, sat somewhere between the grassy Marlborough style and the flintiness of Sancerre.

As the 12 wines tasted all proved, Italian white wines can range enormously in style depending on variety, terroir and the winemaker. What is constant is their capacity to surprise.

“I know Sauvignon Blanc is not one of Italy’s indigenous varieties,” said Bartolotta of the final wine, “but it can do well in the UK market because it is a unique expression of a recognisable grape.”

The wines tasted:

● Casa Grazia Zahara Grillo Riserva 2024
● Feudo Antico Casadonna Pecorino Terre Aquilane IGP 2020
● Bolzicco Collio Friulano 2023
● Borgo Conventi Collio Pinot Grigio 2024
● Tiefenbrunner Müller-Thurgau Vigna Feldmarschall Von Fenner 2013
● Cantina Terlano Pinot Bianco Rarity 2013
● Cadgal Wines Moscato d’Asti DOCG Vigna Vecchia 2019
● Le Colture Fagher Valdobbiadene DOCG Spumante Brut
● Casa Grazia Mari Grillo 2025
● Cantina Tollo Pecorino Terre d’Abruzzo IGP 2025
● Cadgal Wines Moscato d’Asti DOCG Lumine 2025
● Bosco del Merlo Turranio – Sauvignon Blanc 2025