Summer Sipping: Hard To Find Italian Whites

This summer I’m concentrating on the “small” white varietals from Italy, the indigenous, the almost forgotten, and even widely planted average grapes that turn into superstars in one or two small locales. My growing “To Drink” list currently includes: Petite Arvine from Valle D’Aosta; Timorasso, Nascetta, and Erbaluce Caluso from Piemonte; Pigato from Liguria; Ribolla Gialla and Picolit from Friuli-Venezia Giulia; Nosiola from Trentino-Alto Adige; Turbiano and Garganega from Veneto; Carricante, Catarratto Bianco Lucido, Grecanico, and Grillo from Sicily. That’s more than a baker’s dozen, and I hope to sip at least two thirds of the list by the next Equinox. I’ve just picked up a bottle of Nascetta from Elvio Cogno in Langhe, so I’m off and sipping.