If we could, we would have three times the amount of wines we have from Italy, but space and sales would not allow such a range!

Maybe that time will come, but in the meantime we shall have to do justice to the diversity of this great wine-producing country with a more modest selection, that said you will find wines here from all corners of Italy and in all different styles. Flavours include the richness and spice of the South, the piercing freshness and structure of the North, and all manner of nuances in between. All are well balanced and well made so there is little excuse for avoiding them, in other words forget the thin, astringent wines of old!

For some top Italian white wines, look to Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, right in the very North-East of the country. The best whites tend to come from two hilly areas: Colli Orientali del Friuli - literally Friuli’s Eastern Hills - and Collio both dominated by the spectacular backdrop of the Julian Alps. Sirch wines (pronounced ‘Seark’) make a great alternative to safe choices such as Chablis, Sancerre and Kiwi Sauvignon. From next door Veneto you will find lovely wines - Valpolicella, Bardolino and Soave - from the charming Zeni family who have an interesting museum by their cellars above the shores of Lake Garda. In Soave Classico we have a new estate, Coffele, a parents, son and daughter set-up making gorgeous wines which have few equals in the area. Moving over to the North-West, Piemonte is a great red wine-producing area, and also the home of some of Italy’s best cooking providing many an interesting wine and food match. In fact the town of Alba, on the edge of the Barolo area, is the truffle capital of Italy and creamy pastas are often the order of the day, cut through by the tannins and acidity of wines such as Barbera, Barolo and Barbaresco. In Barolo, Paolo Conterno is very much a family affair of seven hectares, run by the energetic Giorgio Conterno. He is near Monforte d’Alba in the tiny hamlet of La Ginestra which gives its name to one of the most famous ‘cru’ vineyards of Barolo.

Still in Barolo, but over the hills at La Morra, is Eugenio Bocchino and his wife Cinzia who make a super range of wines, most with striking, Dachshund-adorned labels. They have just 5.5 hectares and a stylish house-cum-winery in the vineyards. The wine of Barbaresco, to the west of Barolo, can be prettier and more immediate than Barolo, and none more so than that of Renato Fenocchio. He has spent much of his working life growing grapes for the local co-op before bottling his own wines, which come from 11 tiny steep vineyards. He uses minimal intervention in the winery in case it changes the pure expression of the vines. All these Piemonte reds are often better with food when first shipped, but round out remarkably and soften with a couple more years of bottle age. Near the town of Asti in Rocchetta Tanero, Beppe and Raffaella Bologna, and Raffaella’s husband Norbert, specialise in wonderfully intense Barberas but also make a Moscato d’Asti which makes the most wonderful summer drink. Cortese is the best white grape of Piedmont and reaches its zenith in Gavi. We’ve tasted many but few come close to the greengage fruit of La Chiara.

Down in Tuscany two superb estates fly the flag for Chianti Classico. The first, Riecine, is run by Anglo-Irishman Sean O’Callaghan, who has been there almost twenty years since he graduated from oenology school in Germany. This estate is high up in the forests above Gaiole-in-Chianti, where Sean makes very fine, svelte wines which have gone down a storm with all customers who have tasted them. The second is Giampaolo Motta’s La Massa, right in the warm heart of Chianti Classico, in an area known as the ‘Conca d’Oro’ or ‘Golden Basin’ where four south-facing spurs are occupied by four of Chianti’s top producers. La Massa’s Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet are densely planted on a diverse range of slopes, lending great complexity to the wines, while late-harvesting gives them beautiful harmony and super-ripe tannins. Delicious Chianti from Geografico and wines from Florentine dynasty Antinori make up the range from these parts. Skipping south of Siena to Montalcino, you will find the brilliant wines of astrology expert Giugi Sesti and his daughter Elisa at picturesque Castelo di Argiano. Their Rosso, Brunello and Sangiovese-made ‘Grangiovese’ have a large and well deserved following among Tanners customers. At the northern end of the Montalcino plateau is Podere Santa Maria, belonging to Marino Colleoni. In this area you tend to find the finest, red fruit wines which are epitomised by those of Colleoni.

Central Italy is home to some of the best known whites namely Verdicchio, the classic fish wine of the Adriatic coast; Frascati, the spritzy, gluggable white of Rome’s trattorie and Orvieto, a more nutty white from Umbria. Finally, to the South of the country, and the delightful wines and winemakers that we have found from Basilicata, Campania, Puglia and Sicily. Some of Italy’s fullest and most interesting whites come from the steep, volcanic slopes of the Apennines near Avellino in Campania. Terredora is a stellar producer of these along with fine Lacryma Christi from Vesuvius. In Basilicata the seven-peaked, extinct volcano of Monte Vulture is the focal point for the Aglianico grape. Frenetic winemaker Oronzo Alò of Alovini coaxes brilliantly silky wines from Aglianico and Greco too. From Puglia, the heel of Italy, try the old vine Primitivo of Gaetano Morella with its extraordinary concentration. Otherwise there are more affordable wines made from Negroamaro and Primitivo from space-age operation San Marzano (Ampelo). Sicily is a world player on its own with oceans of vineyards, but charismatic Bruno Fina finds the best mountain sites for his tasty varietal wines. The Amanti label represents great value from Sicily while the charmingly old-fashioned Lombardo family fashions wonderful Marsalas in a winery whose palm-lined avenue is lapped by the warm waters of the Mediterranean. Happy exploring in these vinous waters!

James Tanner