Trebbiano

White wine grapeItaly

The style profiled here is a dry, light-bodied white Trebbiano wine: neutral, light, crisp. Typical alcohol is 11.5 to 13%. Serve it at 7 to 10 °C.

Also called Ugni blanc, St. Émilion, White Hermitage, White Shiraz.

The grape

Trebbiano, ugni blanc in France, is one of the most planted white grapes in the world and produces very little wine anyone seeks out. That is not a contradiction: it exists for volume and for distillation. It is high yielding, high in acidity and low in flavour, and high acid with low alcohol is exactly what a base wine for brandy needs.

Almost all Cognac and Armagnac is made from it. In Italy it appears under many local names in white blends across the centre of the country, including in Soave and in the old Chianti recipe, where a small proportion of white grapes was once required in a red wine.

There is one exception worth knowing. Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, on the Adriatic coast, is a different variety, bombino bianco, in many vineyards, and a handful of producers there make deep, textured, long-lived white wine from it that has nothing in common with the neutral norm. The name trebbiano covers several genetically distinct grapes, which is a recurring problem with Italian variety names.

BuyingAs a table wine, trebbiano is a filler. Trebbiano d'Abruzzo from a serious producer is the exception and is worth the search.

Style profile

Our rating of a representative wine
Sweetness
Bone dry
Body
Light
Tannin
Very low
Acidity
High

Sweetness and structure vary with the producer, region and winemaking. These ratings describe the style above; check the label for the bottle in front of you.

Food pairings

Where it grows

Notable regions
ItalyFranceAustralia
Notable wines
Orvieto, Cognac, Armagnac

Explore its wine regions

Planting snapshot

2015 observations, OIV 2017 study

OIV recorded about 111,000 hectares worldwide under the reported name Trebbiano Toscano in its 2015 variety snapshot.

France
about 82,000 ha (2015)
Italy
about 21,000 ha (2015)

Historical, rounded figures, including all uses of the grape. OIV’s variety study covers 75% of world vineyard area. A country absent from this table may still grow this grape.

Countries that build on it

Similar grapes

Sources