A year ago, I took part in La Famiglia di Amarone tasting at the Collisioni Festival in Barolo. The great family wineries (and there are many) that make the style of Amarone – wine made from a blend of dried grapes; typically Corvina, Corvinone & Rondinella, (and a multiple of others) to make this high alcohol-high tannin-big mouth-highly ageable wine. And these wines come from Valpolicella, a highly reputable region located in the Veneto in NE Italy. But what many DON’T know is that some of these families also have land located closer to Lake Garda, the home of Trebbiano di Lugana, aka Turbiana, aka Trebbiano di Soave – which is also known as Verdicchio, one of Italy’s greatest white grapes.

Ah…gotta love Italian grapes! Synonyms galore…or should I say biotypes. Since there are eight different Trebbianos out there (that are all unrelated by the way), let’s not confuse this one with what I sometimes like to call the ‘armpit grape” of Italy – Trebbiano Toscano. But I digress…due to the quality challenges of  (some) of the trebbianos out there, some producers have chosen to label their wines as Turbiana. So, if you see this on the label, essentially it is Trebbiano di Lugana, the wine that we are discussing today!

Lake Garda sits with Lombardy to the west and Veneto to the east. Lugana sits on the south shores of the Lake while Valpolicella sits to the east of the lake. Chalky clay soils suits the Turbiana grape, the chalk providing the essential acidity to the wine and the clay bringing the roundness and longevity to the wine.

One of the families of well known Amarone is the Zenato family. Many awards and accolades given for their Reserva Sergio Zenato wine, but in 1993, patriarch Sergio realized the potential of the Lugana area and the Trebbiano di Lugana grape. He also created a reserva of this wine, aged in oak. The San Benedetto is the first tier, and the wine that I have tasted for this post. Unlike the reserva which is fermented partially in large oak barrels with further ageing in small oak barrels for additional complexity, the San Benedetto is done completely in stainless steel. This allows a freshness to the wine with great aromatics. This wine had that high searing acidity with flavours of melon, citrus and hints of pineapple and grassiness. To be honest it took some time to open up and I have some leftover to try today to see if it has improved overnight. Clearly, it needs food, and my magical pairing? Salt and vinegar chips! When drinking wine at 9:30 pm, a full meal is NOT what I need, but any salty snack would work wonders with this wine! Salute!

My colleagues here at #ItalianFWT have some other examples of Trebbiano di Lugana along with some delicious pairings – check them out!

• Jane at Always Ravenous: “Crab Herb Crusted Chilean Sea Bass and Lugana Wine 
• Wendy from A Day In The Life On The Farm: “Seared shrimp and wild mushroom Risotto with Lugana wine”
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures With Camilla: “Turbiana Grapes and Tuna Tacos”
• Jill at L’Occasion  : “Lugana: An Italian White Wine For All Seasons”
• Jen at Vino Travels: “Love for the Wines of Lugana”
• Katarina at Grapevine Adventures:  Lugana DOC Producers in Comparison at #italianfwt”
• Lisa at The Wine Chef: “Seafood Pasta With Tomatoes, Garlic And Lugana White Wine”
• Li of The Wining Hour: “Lugana Loves Lake Garda”
• Rupal the Syrah Queen: “A Journey to Lugana – Italy’s Elegant White Wines”
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest: “Change It Up With Lugana DOC and Turbiana”
• Susannah at Avvinare: “Lugana Love”
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator : “Fall for Lugana and Chicken Piccata”
• Nicole at Somm’s Table with “One Afternoon in Lugana at Podere Selva Capuzza”