If, like me, you’ll have the TV on in the background 24/7 over the next two weeks to consume as much bobsledding, halfpipe, and downhill skiing as possible, you’ll witness just how much of a winter sports paradise the Italian Alps are. I selfishly hope some of the programming will also touch on just how much of a wine paradise this swath of the country is, too. In a few idyllic valleys hidden among the mountains, you’ll find some of the most enchanting whites and reds being made in Italy.
      For example, just half an hour west of two Olympic sites—Tesero and Predazzo—Peter Dipoli and his nephew Felix Bampi are using the unique advantages of the Alps to fashion one of the most spellbinding Sauvignon Blancs you’ll taste all year. Perched high up on dizzyingly steep slopes with ideal eastern exposure, Peter and Felix’s Sauvignon vines soak up what they consider to be the best part of the day’s sunlight—the gentle morning light—while the towering mountains to the west shade their vines from the more intense afternoon rays. This means their Sauvignon grapes can grow at a glacial pace throughout the season, reaching an ideal balance of ripeness and freshness in mid-September.
      That remarkable balance found in this terroir is amplified in the 2021 vintage, which Felix believes is “the best since I joined the domaine, and perhaps even one of the best ever.” Aged in large acacia casks, their Sauvignon Blanc “Voglar” is very much a chiseled and bracing bianco, slaloming across your palate with notes of grapefruit, pear, and white peach, but there’s unexpected depth too. The flavors fan out, as does the texture, and the wine grows more and more mesmerizing after a few minutes in your glass.
      If you like Sancerre, I’m confident you’ll love Dipoli’s Voglar, but it transcends Sauvignon Blanc in its own way, too. Their Alpine rendition takes the grape to new heights altogether. Do not miss this!

In the spirit of the Olympics, which opened on Friday in Milan, Felix’s favorite pairing for the Voglar is a simple and fragrant risotto alla milanese.