Vermentino

This variety is loved by winemakers for its easy nature and adaptability. And for consumers, it offers a range of styles from fresh and zippy to rich and aromatic. Richard Baudains and Carla Capalbo recommend some of their favourites from the three prime regions of Liguria, Tuscany and Sardinia.

THINK OF ITALIAN whites and you might picture the north – green, pre-alpine slopes and light, crisp and dry wines. Vermentino is the opposite in everything. it is Mediterranean. it is a sunshine variety. it absorbs the sun’s heat and light and returns it in wines which have a lovely fragrance, generous round texture, deep flavours and nearly always a whiff of saltiness, which, although it is fantasy, one cannot but help associate with sea breezes and Mediterranean scrub. 

Vermentino is one of those intriguing migratory varieties that criss-crossed the western Mediterranean during the Middle Ages. how it ended up in italy is not entirely clear. The most widely accredited theory traces its route from Spain, where it probably originated, to Corsica, and from there to liguria through the port of Genoa. it then spread into neighbouring Piedmont, along the Tuscan coast and across the water to Sardinia. it acquired different names along the way – Pigato in parts of liguria, favorita in Piedmont and Malvoisie in Corsica – but ampelographers agree that they all refer to the same variety. 

Italy currently grows about 4,000 hectares of Vermentino. Sardinia is by far and away the biggest producer, followed by Tuscany and liguria in that order. on paper there are more than a dozen DoCs for monovarietal Vermentino across these three regions, but the number of significant ones is considerably lower. in terms of prestige, Sardinia’s Vermentino di Gallura – the only Vermentino to have DoCG status – has the highest profile.