Some of the very finest white wines made anywhere on earth come from the northeastern corner of Italy. Some brilliant wag in the Italian infrastructure decided to combine this huge area of several dozen wine growing regions into one area called Trevenezie IGT.

Credit: Scaia

The use of the term “IGT” is a typically Italian response to winemakers who want to try something outside the historic norms, yet still get some recognition that their product is a premium wine. IGT stands for indicazione geografica tipica and while these wines may not have the cultural panache of DOC or DOCG wines, they still have something important to offer.

Scaia’s white wine is made from 55% Garganega and 45% Chardonnay. If you love Chardonnay, but your dinner is calling for something with more citrusy kick, this is your wine. We loved it with a Thai dinner one night and, on another occasion, with an Italian cheese tasting. In both cases, the smooth richness of the Chardonnay was perfectly offset by the brilliant acidity of the Garganega. At $15, it is a bargain for the quality.

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Wes Marshall is the author of What's a Wine Lover To Do? (Artisan) and The Wine Roads of Texas (Maverick), as well as the Executive Producer of the PBS television series of the same name. Wes has written for The Austin Chronicle since 1999, covering wine, cocktails, food, and travel.