It has a melony, jasmine scent, a frothy texture, and when paired with spicy wontons and sesame noodles was revelatory!

Massimo Benevelli specializes in making honest wines that reflect the rolling hills around Monforte d’Alba.

Some wines deliver well beyond expectations—this is one of them.

This ultralight rosso is best served slightly chilled to amplify its punchy cranberry notes, subtle kiss of black pepper, and tongue-tingling tannin.

A fragrant blend of mostly Riesling and Muscat, Félix Meyer’s Gentil works like a reset button for your palate.

Today, the 2023 is a robust, tightly coiled rouge balanced by notes of dark fruit, plum, earth, and eucalyptus.

Made from hand-picked sorted Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the deceptively saline Définition tastes crystal-clean.

Concentrated, youthful, and soulful, this Sangiovese is enchanting now, but it has a long life full of gorgeous evolution ahead.

With its light and elegant notes of citrus and orchard fruit, this is one of the stand-out, exquisitely crafted wines of this region.

Tangy, thirst-quenching Gamay from a family that has been making Beaujolais for over 500 years.

Lumpp’s blanc offerings may be small, but they are mighty.

An abundance of violets and velvet, amid a cooling sensation of a cold spring on a hot day.

I find the Clos du Roy blanc to be quite versatile at my house in Meursault, especially with fowl, pork, and veal.

This Tour du Bon rouge, with its juicy nose and bright, crunchy fruit, its mouthwatering acidity and peppery verve, is particularly elegant.

A crisp, linear white with subtle aromas of flowers and herbs, this is an all-purpose bargain sipper made for aperitivo, salads, and seafood.

A laid-back Barbera-based rosso with soft fruit and gentle tannins to enjoy with anything, not just Italian food.

Brimming with honeysuckle, lychee, and citrus, this Bordeaux blend is reliably harmonious with Eastern cuisine.

This juicy, blueberry-and-leather-infused Syrah with a long finish is ready to drink tonight.

Earthy Pinot Gris as dramatic and flinty as this demands an assertive pairing; try it with smoked sausage and mustard.

Alouettes harkens to a different era: it’s pleasantly tannic and chalky, with sleek notes of licorice, cranberry, and prickly black pepper.

Lime blossoms delivered via a lightning bolt of minerally refreshment.

This is about as quaffable as the region’s rouges get.

This is bone-dry, incredibly stimulating, low-alcohol Garganega frizzante from the unheralded volcanic hills of Gambellara.

Moulin-à-Vent has a unique, earthy, chewy edge to it that you just can’t find anywhere else.

A blend of Ugni blanc, Claudette, Marsanne, and Sauvignon blanc, here is the wine to enhance seafood and shellfish.

Grown in volcanic soils, it’s a perfect balance between smoky tannins and Sicilian grapes.

Made with mature black olives, the most buttery and decadent oil we import.

Brambly and mineral, this bottling exudes both the convivial charm of Gamay and the crunchy intensity of the Côte de Brouilly.

You’ll appreciate the distinctive flavor profile: ripe, succulent citrus devoid of grassiness, with the same flinty nerve as a good Sancerre.

Recommended for the curious, the geeky, and enthusiasts of grilled fish, bottarga pasta, and goat cheeses.

Offers an absolutely electric perfume, while the palate delivers bracing acidity and a chiseled, chalky finish.

Perfumed Nebbiolo fruit and tender tannins encourage pulling the cork just for the sake of quenching one’s thirst.

This is a universally loved pink bubbly delight of candied strawberries and roses, always true and always exquisite.

This Corsican delight is fully dry, aromatic, and playful with notes of lychee, citrus blossom, pomelo fruit, and a touch of sea breeze.

Giamello’s Langhe Nebbiolo is fresh and vibrant, evoking cherries, roses, and a touch of tar.

Sweet spices conceal an edgy undercurrent, making this Pinot Gris both versatile and alluring.

A single-vineyard, old-vine Pinot Noir from a small parcel planted by Simon’s great-uncle and grandfather.

After years of beautiful evolution, the 2019 is incredibly chiseled and pure—tasting it, you get a sense of a masterful balance and freshness.

A masterfully made Muscat is an aromatically divine experience.

New to Alsatian wine? This is the perfect place to start.

Aromas of black fruit, graphite, wild herbs, and game over firm, stony tannins. Saturated with flavors of the Île de Beauté.

A vibrant country red that mixes the trademark notes of the South with beguiling elegance and drinkability.

True to the region, it has exuberant, piquant fruit, both peppery and floral throughout.

Delicate, precise, and succulent at the same time, this beautiful blanc will pair well with fresh seafood and light summer salads and pastas.

There is something timeless to this Pic Saint Loup, its herbal bouquet and fleshy texture, all free from any hint of modern trappings.

This gorgeous blend of Vermentino, Ugni Blanc, Sémillon, and Clairette is both fleshy and mineral-driven.

This is textbook Morgon: bright, floral, and spicy, recalling juicy peach and sour cherry.

Lucky for us, vignerons in the 1980s salvaged this gem of a variety; one sip feels like stepping into technicolor.

Carignan from very old vines with immense depth but the immediate drinkability of a Cru Beaujolais.

Muriel Giudicelli’s Patrimonio rouge is elegant, deep, bursting with ripe black fruits, silky smooth, and offering great length.

One of five or six most outstanding dry whites of the Mediterranean rim, vintage after vintage and worth every centime!

With an unmistakably Italian nose, it recalls the grippy tannins of a bright Chianti and the stateliness of an aged Bordeaux.

Grassy and piquant with a citrus and mineral-tinged finish, it checks all the boxes.

Rochebonne offers Chardonnay fruit that’s both racy and sun-kissed

A terroir-driven rosé redolent of a Provençal summer with notes of thyme and white peach, and a mouthwateringly salty finish.

Old vines give this Carignan a supple, suede-like texture, along with loads of dark fruit, a peaty smokiness, and great minerality.

Burgundian-like in character from its time spent in barrel, the laser-like acidity will become even more enticing with some age.

This Gigondas—densely concentrated and deeply opaque—is more refined than meets the eye.

The kind of Saint-Jo to dig into right away: smoky, layered, lush, and laced with violet, bay leaf, and black olive.

This mineral blend has an ethereal perfume, reminiscent of blossoming flowers with a hint of fennel.

Who could resist such a heavenly ambrosia, with its scent spring wildflowers, citrus blossoms, and succulently ripe grapes?

After aging for eight years, it’s now in a spot where the fruit recalls savory plums and baked cherries.

With mouthwatering notes of citrus, honey, and the faintest salinity, this Mâcon-Villages is immediately approachable (read: gulpable).

This thoroughbred wine is sculpted for the cellar but still provides a lot of immediate gratification.

A brooding, wild beast with hints of black fruit and Mediterranean herbs, this is a portal to Catalonia’s stunning seaside vineyards.

While it has a crystalline edge, there is a surprising dollop of sun, heft, and deep, creamy notes of white flowers and citrus fruit.

Crisp and characterful, and loaded with Provençal complexity.

Golden-hued and aromatically complex, notes of chamomile and green apple, lime zest and honey, will tickle your senses.

An aromatic mix of roasted, smoking herbs with plenty of tannins to chew on, Cuvée Sarah goes down with pleasure.

Limited to vintages where poor weather prevents individual bottlings, Climat renders all the top qualities of the Robert family’s holdings.

The juice is black as can be, emanating a vivid aroma of wild berries that wakens the senses.

A rosé made via ancient methods from ashy soils high on Mount Etna.

A Corsican red from a rosé specialist.

Ostertag unveils a different side of Pinot Gris with this cuvée, one you might not expect.

Intensely dry and mineral, the structured Les Arceaux is a bottle to pair with a meal rather than to drink as an apéritif.

The Rozeta features the exuberant, inviting perfume and velvety wild fruit we expect from a wine that underwent 100% whole-cluster fermentation.

Satisfying and delicious, with a pleasantly textured, slightly saline finish, it is lip-smackingly good.

A generous dash of plump, sun-ripened fruit enveloping a granite core

Evokes citrus rind, herbs, and sea spray and boasts all of the freshness of a Mediterranean breeze.

Open this alongside a bowl of fennel taralli, the donut-shaped Puglian cracker that has become my go-to aperitivo snack.

Aged eight years before release, the wine is textured, vibrant, and delightfully decadent.

Lychee and ripe citrus wrapped in beeswax. You might think there are a bunch of busy benevolent bees whiling away inside your glass.

Savor it, because your glass will be empty before you know it, leaving you only with the spicy, mineral-laden aftertaste..

Valinière is a monumental demonstration of what happens when respectfully working the earth is not just a job, but one’s whole life.

With lovely notes of currant and violets, this bright, crunchy wine is irresistible in its youth. Serve cool with just about anything.

A profound red wine full of depth, liveliness, and old-school, rustic character.

This bottle gives some of my favorite grand cru Rieslings a run for their money with a nose evoking peach skin and a palate rippling with fresh acidity.

You’d be right to be skeptical of a Nebbiolo from Sardinia, but from a top-notch terroir, it is something else entirely.

Peach-scented Bandol rosé is the bee’s knees on a warm summer afternoon.

This bottling highlights a parcel shielded from the afternoon sun by tall oaks (lecci), yielding a gentler Chianti characterized by sultry fruit and velvety tannins.

If you don’t recognize Félix’s touch from the rich aromas of lychee, ginger, and rose petals, you will by the time you finish your first glass.

170-year-old own-rooted Rossese Bianco, four days on skins, raised in acacia barrels—a Ligurian heirloom!

Always a standout, it is lithe, racy, and elegant, while not lacking the stony backbone for which great Greve is known.

First class depth and complexity on par with premier cru White Burgundy, but with a Friulian slant. Zingy adicity with citrus and apple notes.

Fixin is known as the “rustic cousin” to Gevrey-Chambertin, but Bouvier’s Crais de Chêne is refined and easy to adore.

You’ll taste the salty sea breeze in this wine.

There’s a quality that almost feels mouth-cleansing; like a spoonful of zesty citrus sorbet in the middle of a multi-course meal.