The true spiritual home of Vermentino is Sardinia. The best examples of dry Sardinian Vermentino wine combine zingy flavours of green apple, grapefruit and lime with notes of honeysuckle and white flowers. Its most distinctive characteristic is the slightly bitter finish, which is reminiscent of green almonds or citrus pith.
Read our Guide to Vermentino wine.
Vermentino is a versatile grape, used to produce excellent white wines in a range of styles – from refreshing, bone-dry still, to noble sweet passito and sparkling versions.
Vendemmia tardiva (late harvest) wines are made from over-ripe Vermentino grapes. They have complex flavours of caramelised grapefruit zest, baked yellow apple, honey, custard, apricot stone and almonds.
Vermentino responds well to fermentation in oak barrels. This technique lends complexity and structure, adding aromas of vanilla and smoke.
Registration Code: 258
Official name: VERMENTINO B.
Official permitted synonyms: PIGATO B. (also registered as a separate grape number 190) , FAVORITA B. (also registered as a separate grape number 80)
The grape has been registered in the official MiPAAF Registro Varietà since 1970. [1]
Producing a respectable 19 million bottles per year, Sardinia is Italy’s leader in Vermentino wine.
Gallura, in the north-eastern corner of Sardinia, benefits from unique soils rich in pink granite sand. Vermentino di Gallura is the only DOCG area in Sardinia, which reflects the highest quality of wines made there.
Vermentino di Sardegna DOC stretches over the whole island. It produces refreshing Vermentino wines in a more approachable style than Gallura in the north. These wines are best enjoyed young with Mediterranean seafood dishes or risotto.
Vermentino is the most important grape in Liguria, and accounts for 23% of the local wine production. This grape thrives on the sea-facing mountain slopes of the Italian Riviera around Portofino, Cinque Terre and La Spezia. Liguria’s Vermentino wines offer flavours of aromatic herbs (fennel, sage, thyme), white flowers, pears and sea salt.
Liguria’s production of Vermentino wine primarily serves the local market. Its white wines are enjoyed by millions of tourists visiting the gems of Italian Riviera: Portofino, Rapallo, and the Cinque Terre national park. If you are lucky enough to visit these blessed lands, here’s a few Vermentino wines to look for.
Cinque Terre DOC is, without a doubt, the most renowned denomination for Luguria’s white wines. It is famous for white blends of 40% Bosco, 40% Vermentino or Albarola, with the rest made up of other local grapes. Vineyards are planted on narrow terraces on steep mountain slopes leading right to the sea. Droplets of sea water from the crushing waves and sea breezes lend the grapes a characteristic note of minerality and saltiness.
Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà DOC is considered one of the best Italian sweet wines made in the passito style. It is produced from the same grapes as Cinque Terre DOC. Grapes are harvested late, and dried on graticci (wooden racks), until they almost become raisins. The resulting wine has an amber colour, and offers concentrated aromas of white flowers, caramelised grapefruit zest, honey, dried apricot, nuts and sweet oriental spices.
The denomination of Colli di Luni DOC is Luguria’s leading producer of Vermentino wine. It is nested on the hills around the town of La Spezia. Its single-varietal version, Colli di Luni Vermentino, must contain at least 90% Vermentino. The denomination also produces a blend, Colli di Luni Bianco, that includes both Vermentino and Trebbiano Toscano.
Val Polcevera DOC is Liguria’s smallest denomination. It surrounds Genova, the region’s capital city. It produces single-varietal wine from 100% Vermentino, as well as a blend of Vermentino and the local grape Biancetta Genovese.
Colline di Levanto is a small DOC located 10 km north of Cinque Terre. It produces young, fresh and light wine from a blend of three white grapes: Vermentino, Albarola and Bosco.
Vermentino can also be found in Piemonte, where it’s known as Favorita. Although noble denominations of Piemonte don’t recognise this grape, small plantings remain in old family vineyards. To respect the old tradition, Roero Arneis DOCG allows a 5% portion of other white grapes, including Favorita, to be added to 95% Arneis.
