Here is the white wine to open the next time you host aperitivo hour or bake a white fish and roast potatoes. Floral and zesty, it has enough acidity to pair wonderfully with food but is round and charming enough to enjoy on its own!

For months, I have lived with regret—regret that I did not buy more of Cantina Favaro’s inaugural shipment of its stunning Erbaluce di Caluso “Le Chiusure” when it was in stock earlier this year. Because it’s made from an obscure grape, from a remote corner of northernmost Italy, I assumed that I could pick up a bottle at my leisure. But, not long after it arrived in Berkeley, I walked into 1605 San Pablo Avenue to stock up and, to my surprise, it was already all gone!
     It shouldn’t have been too surprising. Despite its relative obscurity, Favaro’s Erbaluce is one of those bottles that makes you do a double take, sit up straight, and lose your words before regaining them to thank the Wine Gods. Tasting it earlier this year—and again today—I can’t help but think, was this how Kermit felt discovering transcendent Chablis in the 1980s? This Erbaluce is not Chablis, but they share so many alluring traits: a chiseled, cool-climate frame, a tension between bracing citrus and orchard fruit, and an irresistibly chalky note that begs for a pairing of fresh seafood, whether a filet of your favorite fish right off the grill, a lobster roll, or a spaghetti alle vongole.
     At first, I hesitated to broadcast this new shipment, for selfish reasons, I admit. But I am willing to make the sacrifice, because Favaro’s wines deserve to be better known. Don’t wait too long lest you find, as I did, this wine will be gone before we know it!

Depending on where it’s grown and how it’s raised, Dolcetto can range from bright and tangy to dark and structured. From one of the grape variety’s great terroirs, this vintage of Sörì Santa Lucia combines the best of both ends of the spectrum. It’s joyous enough for pizza night but also has enough complexity and depth to stand up to your favorite winter stew.

That Silvio Giamello’s exquisite Barbaresco costs the same now as what Eric Asimov and his New York Times “Wine School” panel paid for it in 2010 speaks to the incredible value you can still find in Piedmont. They named that wine—the 2005 vintage—their favorite Barbaresco of the bunch, judging that “its structure was evident, yet so was its delicacy.” The same is true in 2020. This bottling is a master class in how to produce Nebbiolo that is simultaneously lithe and full of character.

Like Giamello in Barbaresco, the Fantino brothers epitomize Nebbiolo traditionalism, and their sixty-year-old, south-facing vines in the historic cru of Bussia give them the perfect raw material to realize their vision of what Barolo can be. Deep, rich, and soulful, this Riserva teems with notes of roses, cherry, spice, and leather and is begging to be paired with a ribeye.

Don’t finish that ribeye without first pouring yourself a glass of this enchanting Barolo from one of the region’s most hallowed vineyards, Vigna Rionda. Already elegant, this Barolo shows astonishing poise and a different mesmerizing feature of its kaleidoscopic personality every time you take a sip. It is majestic now and will become more transcendent over time.