Crisp, fresh Frascati wine is a trip to Rome in a glass

Italian pinot grigio is so ubiquitous in the United States that it’s easy to assume this must be true everywhere in Italy as well.

However, every region of Italy produces its own wines and tends to favor them. If you’ve ever enjoyed a refreshing glass of white wine in one of Rome’s trattorias, chances are it would have been Frascati, not pinot grigio. Pinot grigio is a specialty of the Italy’s alpine northeast anchored by Venice and rarely encountered elsewhere. Named for a town located a half-hour’s drive to the southeast of the city, Frascati is like pinot grigio in that it is typically made in a dry, unoaked style from grapes harvested when they are barely ripe and is designed to be drunk young and fresh.

It also shares pinot grigio’s relatively modest acidity for an unoaked white; both are notably less tart than sauvignon blanc with a faint echo of the tactile creaminess that makes chardonnay so popular. However, unlike pinot grigio, Frascati wines are typically blends and must contain a minimum of 70% of malvasia grapes to qualify for their appellation. Malvasia is far more fragrant than pinot grigio, featuring flavors of flowers and fleshy stone fruits that are reminiscent of moscato, but milder. As a result, Frascati wines feature their own distinctive and delicate flavor profile of white peaches and blanched almonds, and an outdoorsy scent of wildflowers and hay. So next time you go to grab a bottle of pinot grigio, consider this delightful bargain instead to get a taste of Rome.

$7.99 12.5% alcohol

PLCB Item #8850

Sale price through 8/29 – regularly $9.99

Also available at:

Kreston Wine & Spirits in Wilmington — $8.49; krestonwines.com, Total Wine & More in Claymont, Del. — $9.99; totalwine.com, Joe Canal’s in Marlton or Lawrenceville, N.J. — $10.99; jcanals.com.