A Trio of Italian White Wines for 2025

Italian reds get all the press, but Italian whites can carry their own. Here’s a look at three recent releases from the country — all appropriate for summertime sipping.

NV Pasqua “Hey French, You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t” (Edition 3) – The third multi-vintage blend in the Hey French series, this wine takes garganega, plus small amounts of pinot blanc and sauvignon blanc, from the 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016 vintages, all grown on Pasqua’s family vineyards on Monte Calvarina, one of Soave’s iconic volcanic sites. The very full-bodied wine comes across as more American than French in this release, showcasing buttery notes of vanilla and shortbread backed up by heavy baking spice, loaded with cinnamon, followed by brown butter, lemon curd, and lime leaf. Notes of white pepper and white tea inform a lingering, complicated finish. The French would never…. A / $45

2019 Famiglia Cotarella Ferentano Bianco Lazio IGT – 100% roscetto from Lazio, this is a balanced but rich wine, loaded with fruit that is at turns tropical, then apple-focused, with creamy overtones of vanilla and banana pudding. Guava notes dominate a reprising finish of perfumed tropical fruit, turning quite doughy on the fade-out. Bold in body thanks to its chewy texture, this would make for an enticing alternative to more staid options, including both chardonnay and pinot grigio. B+ / $25

2022 Ceretto Blange Arneis Langhe DOC – A slight frizzante quality lifts this wine into , which is otherwise a somewhat haphazard experience, melding a heavy note of anise with more moderated notes of lemon peel, grapefruit, and peach ring candies. The licorice notes and sweet citrus are at odds with each other throughout, with the finish leaving a somewhat saccharine flavor on the back of the palate that I wasn’t able to push past. B- / $25

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