I have an affection for Italian white wines. Not the generic pinot grigio that is so widely sold today. (I refer to a lot of that sort of pinot grigio as wine for people who don’t like flavor.) And not international varieties like chardonnay. There’s some good Italian chardonnay, to be sure, but what’s the point?

My tastes run to white wines made from grapes like fiano, greco di tufo, ribolla gialla, verdicchio and vermentino. To traditional method bubblies like Franciacorta. And there’s no better place to taste a lot of these wines than the annual Tre Bicchieri tasting put on by Gambero Rosso, the Italian media company focused on wine and food. Gambero Rosso publishes an exhaustive annual guide to Italian wines called, appropriately, “Italian Wines.”

This year’s tasting, held recently at Fort Mason in San Francisco, featured more than 140 wineries that had won the coveted Tre Bicchieri (Italian for “three glasses”) award for at least one of their wines. In many cases, the wineries also poured wines that had been awarded two glasses. With so many wines in one room, I clearly could only scratch the surface. And the confusing arrangement of the wineries – they were grouped by importer, and table numbers weren’t always sequential (oh, there’s table 44; where the heck is 45?) – made navigating the room a little time-consuming.

So I concentrated on whites, along with a smattering of reds, sometimes poured by people I’ve met through the years. But before the big walk-around tasting, I started with a short seminar on the white wines of the little-known appellation of Custoza, which is to the south and southeast of Lake Garda in the Veneto region. The main grapes are trebbiano and garganega, which are often blended with small amounts of other white grapes. About half of the production is exported, mostly to the rest of Europe, and the wines aren’t often seen here.

But there are some worth seeking out. Most should be priced at $20 or less. In general, the Custoza whites are racy and fresh, but with some weight. Flavors include citrus, apple, apple peel, melon and pineapple, with some minerality and, often, a note of saffron. A few to look for include the 2015 Tinazzi “Ca dei Rocchi”; 2015 Gorgo “San Michelin”; 2014 Cavalchina “Amedeo”; and 2013 Albino Piona. Cavalchina is an exceptionally good producer: The 2013 Amedeo is a Tre Bicchieri wine. (Note that wines listed in this article may not yet be available.)

I tasted several delicious bubblies from Franciacorta, near Milan. The sparkling wines from Franciacorta are made in the traditional method, like Champagne. The wines tend to be a little riper than Champagne, however, because the climate is warmer. Gambero Rosso awarded the top sparkling wine designation to the 2006 Ca’ del Bosco Vintage Collection Dosage Zero Noir, a 100 percent pinot noir bubbly that’s rich yet fresh, with notes of brioche and mineral, fine texture and a long finish. It’s very rare and expensive. A more affordable option is the NV Ca’ del Bosco Brut Cuvée Prestige, which is quite refined but not as rich.

Le Marchesine showed a fine lineup of Franciacorta, with the best one being the 2008 Secolo Novo Dosage Zero. It’s bright and a little toasty, with pretty fruit and a hint of mineral.

Soave got a bad rap for years as a neutral-tasting, cheap white. (Pinot grigio, despite the good examples from Alto Adige, has assumed that mantle.) But I love a good Soave, like the 2013 Pieropan Soave Classico “Calvarino.” It’s fleshy and floral, with white fruit, good concentration and a long finish.

The Marisa Cuomo estate is perched above the Amalfi Coast in Campania, and the 2014 Marisa Cuomo Fiorduva is a white blend that transports you there. The wine is fragrant and floral, with notes of lemons (typical of the Amalfi Coast), apple, apple peel and mineral. The 2014 Pietracupa Greco di Tufo comes from an inland spot in Campania and is juicy and fresh, with citrusy fruit and a lot of minerality.

From an entirely different part of Italy – Marche, on the eastern coast – there’s the 2013 Gioacchino Garofoli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore “Podium,” a wine that displays bright grapefruit, almonds, mineral and good concentration.

A number of red wines from Piedmont, in northwestern Italy, received Tre Bicchieri awards, but many of them weren’t at the San Francisco tasting. But I took a spin past a couple of tables. Vietti received the top award for its 2011 Barolo “Rocche di Castiglione,” a structured red with red cherry fruit, a note of anise and drying tannins, but the winery also poured its more affordable 2011 Barolo “Castiglione,” which is more approachable now, with smooth red fruit and a floral note. I also tasted the 2012 Barbaresco “Asili” from Ca’ del Baio, which Gambero Rosso named as its grower of the year. The wine is fragrant with rose petals and a hint of leather, as well as red cherry fruit and fine tannins.