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2023 Valle d’Itria Spumante Brut
I Pástini
Puglia is probably not the first place you would expect to find a delicate sparkler like this one, but the region’s indigenous grapes allow for a surprising diversity of styles in Italy’s deep south. Verdeca, a specialty around the town of Locorotondo, stars in this bottling that drinks like a southern Prosecco: light, crisp, and citrusy, with a playful bead that keeps the palate cleansed and refreshed. Verdeca’s aromas of herbs and flowers come through with total charm in this bottle, which would be the perfect companion to a plate of fried little sea critters.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | sparkling |
Vintage: | 2023 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Verdeca |
Appellation: | Valle d’Itria IGP |
Country: | Italy |
Region: | Puglia |
Producer: | I Pástini |
Winemaker: | Gianni Carparelli |
Vineyard: | 3 ha, planted in 2001 |
Soil: | Red clay, limestone |
Aging: | Aged in bottle for 1 month |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12% |
More from this Producer or Region

2024 Locorotondo Bianco “Antico”
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Open this alongside a bowl of fennel taralli, the donut-shaped Puglian cracker that has become my go-to aperitivo snack.

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About The Producer
I Pástini
I Pástini is a small, family-run winery in the Valle d’Itria in eastern central Puglia. Founded by Gianni Carparelli and his father Donato, they grow three local white grapes, Verdeca, Bianco d’Alessano, and Minutolo, and the local red grape, Susumaniello, on land their ancestors worked: a beautiful limestone plateau overlooking the Adriatic Sea that is co-planted to ancient, (multi-millennia old!), olive groves.
After vinifying their wines in a neighbor’s cantina for a number of years they built their own winery and cellars, which came online in 2012. They are currently nearing the end of their organic conversion in the vineyards and will be certified organic starting with the 2019 vintage.
About The Region
Puglia
Puglia is Italy’s second most prolific wine-producing region (after the Veneto) and for decades was known as a source of bulk wine. But today, the heel of the boot is more than ever focused on quality, as ambitious growers seek to take advantage of the area's abundant natural riches to produce wines of character and identity. The hot, dry climate and marine influence from the long Adriatic coastline predispose Puglia to growing high-quality fruit, while a wealth of fascinating indigenous grape varieties thrive in these conditions. Changing fashion and a growing respect for the region's mostly calcareous terroirs have breathed fresh air into the Puglian wine scene, and with more than thirty distinct appellations, it is home to a tremendous variety of styles.
While the region is best known for inky, concentrated reds from grapes such as Primitivo and Negroamaro, the first KLWM Puglian imports are in fact white wines—aromatic charmers made from native varieties including Verdeca and the rare Minutolo. They hail from central Puglia’s Valle d’Itria, a plateau that shares a relatively flat topography and limestone soils with the Salento peninsula in the south. The north, in contrast, is hillier and features grapes more common to southern and central Italy including Montepulciano, Sangiovese, and Trebbiano.
Puglian wines are the product of intense southern sunshine and an ancient history of viticulture. With other local specialties including olive oil and burrata, the region has enormous potential for delicious combinations.
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Normally $339.00
SPECIAL SAMPLER PRICE $254.00
(a 25% discount)
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Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
Let the brett nerds retire into protective bubbles, and whenever they thirst for wine it can be passed in to them through a sterile filter. Those of us on the outside can continue to enjoy complex, natural, living wines.
Inspiring Thirst, page 236