Lugana Wine: The Italian White Wine You Need to Meet
The Veneto region in north-east Italy produces some of the country’s most famous wines. Soave, Valpolicella and Amarone will be well known to most wine lovers. But how many people have heard of Lugana wine?
If your Italian wine routine has fallen into a comfortable rut of Pinot Grigio, it’s time to shake up your glass.
Welcome to Lugana, a fascinating Italian white wine region which hugs the southern shores of the gorgeous Lake Garda and straddles the border between Veneto and Lombardy.
Lugana is a wine with a strong sense of place. Its character comes from the combination of Turbiana grapes, clay-rich morainic soils and the moderating influence of Lake Garda. The result is a white wine that can be fresh and vibrant when young, but also surprisingly complex and age-worthy in its more mature expressions.
What Is Lugana Wine?
Lugana DOC is an Italian white wine denomination produced around the southern shores of Lake Garda, with vineyards extending across parts of Lombardy and Veneto.
Lugana’s secret weapon is an indigenous white grape called Turbiana, traditionally also known as Trebbiano di Lugana. While the name Trebbiano may suggest the simple, easy-drinking white wines associated with some other Trebbiano varieties, Turbiana offers something quite different.
The Lugana Consorzio describes Turbiana as a distinctive local grape which benefits from the area’s particular soils and the mild microclimate created by Lake Garda. The production regulations require at least 90% Turbiana, with a limited allowance for other non-aromatic white grapes.
Why does Lugana taste different?
The character of Lugana white wine is closely connected to its location.
The vineyards lie on the plain south of Lake Garda, where the soils are predominantly clay and limestone with a morainic origin. The lake also creates a mild, relatively consistent microclimate, with temperate breezes helping to moderate conditions in the vineyards.
This combination helps Turbiana develop wines with fresh acidity, citrus and floral aromas, mineral character and a distinctive savoury or saline quality.
Pour a young, standard Lugana DOC, and you’ll get hit with a beautiful bouquet of white flowers, juicy citrus and a signature hint of green almond. It’s crisp, refreshing and an excellent match for fresh seafood or a sunny afternoon on the patio.
But Lugana is not simply a wine to drink young.
Lugana Superiore, Riserva and Spumante: different styles to discover
One of the things that makes Lugana DOC particularly interesting is the range of styles it produces.
The Consorzio recognises five categories: Lugana, Lugana Superiore, Lugana Riserva, Lugana Vendemmia Tardiva and Lugana Spumante.
If you track down a Lugana Superiore or Lugana Riserva, you can discover a much richer and more complex side to the wine. With additional maturation, the wines can develop notes of flint, wild herbs, ripe fruit, hazelnut and spice, while retaining the lively acidity and mineral character that makes Lugana distinctive. Lugana Riserva requires at least 24 months of maturation, including six months in bottle.
There are also vibrant Lugana Spumante versions to try, produced using both traditional-method and tank-method sparkling techniques.
So if you thought Lugana was simply another light Italian white wine, there is considerably more to discover.
Three Lugana wines we tasted
The Lugana Consorzio recently held a tasting of Lugana wines at 67 Pall Mall, and I was privileged to take away three bottles which I shared with my midweek wine group.
These were the wines:
Lugana Corte Sermana Due River 2023
UK importer: Raeburn Fine Wines
Aromas of pear, melon and green fruits with herbaceous notes. On the palate, this is a lighter style of Lugana: dry, crisp and refreshing.
Lugana Cascina Feliciana Felugan 2024
£19.95 at Lea & Sandeman
Aromas of quince, white peach, yellow fruits and honey. On the palate, this is off-dry, with balanced acidity and a medium-full body. Delicious and a wine that should keep for two to three years.
Lugana Montonale Orestilla 2021
€35 in Italy | UK importer: Wine Traders
An intense nose of honey, vanilla, peach and pineapple. The palate is complex and very concentrated, with layers of flavour and great length.
A ‘serious’ and impressive wine which demands food.
Where can you buy Lugana wine in the UK?
If you’re keen to explore Lugana wine in the UK, there are already some interesting bottles available.
At the time of writing, Waitrose Fine Wine Cellar stocks two Lugana wines: Montonale Montunal 2025 at £18 and Zenato Villa Flora 2024 at £15.
Lugana is still less familiar to many British wine drinkers than Pinot Grigio, Soave or Sauvignon Blanc, which is part of its appeal. It offers the opportunity to discover a distinctive Italian white wine with a strong sense of place without necessarily having to spend a fortune.
Discover Lugana on a wine tour of Veneto
The last Criterion Wine Tours Veneto wine tour in 2024 included the Lugana wine region. We visited a winery, enjoyed a delicious lunch overlooking Lake Garda and took a boat ride on the lake.
It was a wonderful reminder that discovering a wine is about much more than what is in the glass.
It is the vineyards, the landscape, the food, the people who make the wine and the opportunity to experience the region itself.
And that is precisely what makes lesser-known wine regions such as Lugana so exciting.
If you know Lake Garda for its beautiful scenery, perhaps it’s time to discover it through its wine as well.
