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130. Italian White Grapes for WSET Level 2 Students: Cortese, Garganega, Verdicchio, and Fiano
· 12 min · S1 E130
Episode 130. Italian White Grapes for WSET Level 2 Students: Cortese, Garganega, Verdicchio, and Fiano
Episode 130: Italian White Grapes for WSET Level 2 Students: Cortese, Garganega, Verdicchio, and Fiano
Host: Joanne Close Episode Length: 11:50 Release Date: September 22, 2026
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Level 2 Mock Exam Bundle
This episode covers all four white grapes on the WSET Level 2 syllabus, which makes it a great time to test yourself with the Mock Exam Bundle. It includes full practice exams with detailed answer explanations so you can see exactly where you stand before exam day. It is one of the most efficient ways to reinforce the grape by grape details covered in this episode.
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Episode Description
Joanne wraps up the Italian grape series with a road trip through the four white grapes that show up on the WSET Level 2 syllabus, Cortese, Garganega, Verdicchio, and Fiano. Rather than treating them as a list to memorize, she takes listeners on a roughly 675 mile drive across Italy, starting in Gavi in Piedmont and ending in Avellino in Campania, stopping at each grape's home region along the way.
At each stop, Joanne describes the landscape, the local food, and the style of wine, from the crisp, high acid Cortese of Gavi to the richer, riper Fiano d'Avellino grown at elevation in Campania. Along the way she covers Soave and its volcanic soil, the appassimento method behind Recioto di Soave, the fennel note that shows up in Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, and the lees contact and oak that can shape Fiano.
This episode closes out the Italian series, and Joanne previews what's coming next, a shift to the Southern Hemisphere with a full series on Australian wine, starting with the history of Australian wine next week.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
Cortese (Gavi, Piedmont)
• Dry, light bodied, high acidity • Aromas and flavors of blossom, lemon, apple, and pear • Usually fermented in inert vessels to preserve freshness • Gavi sits only 19 miles from the Ligurian Coast and was once a key trade route town for salt
Garganega (Soave, Veneto)
• Dry, medium bodied, high acidity • Aromas and flavors of apple, pear, lemon, and peach • Grown on volcanic soil around the medieval town of Soave • Soave Classico can develop tertiary notes of honey and almonds • Recioto di Soave DOCG is made using the appassimento method, the same drying technique used for Recioto della Valpolicella
Verdicchio (Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, Marche)
• Dry, high acidity, medium body • Aromas and flavors of apple, pear, and lemon, plus a distinctive fennel note • Elevation in the Marche helps preserve acidity despite the warmer latitude • Better examples can develop tertiary notes of honey and nuts • Pairs beautifully with olive all'ascolana, stuffed and fried green olives
Fiano (Fiano d'Avellino, Campania)
• Medium acidity, medium to full bodied • Riper aromas and flavors of peach, melon, and mango • Grown inland at elevation, around 300 to 600 meters, giving continental and mountain influence • Lees contact can add bread and biscuit character, and oak can contribute smoke • Better examples develop tertiary honey notes with bottle age • Local pairings include chestnuts, hazelnuts, truffles, and caciocavallo cheese
Episode Highlights and Quotes
"It's a little place with a surprisingly large wine reputation."
"It is the most delicious peach in a glass you have ever had."
"We have elevation here, altitude, which helps preserve acidity and therefore freshness in the styles of wines that are made."
Quick Reference: The Four Italian White Grapes
Cortese: Gavi, Piedmont. Light bodied, high acid, blossom and citrus. Garganega: Soave, Veneto. Medium bodied, high acid, apple, pear, and peach, volcanic soil. Verdicchio: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, Marche. High acid, medium body, apple, pear, lemon, and fennel. Fiano: Fiano…
Links in the notes 4
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