Italian Values
by Dustin Soiseth
2022 Colli Trevigiani Verdiso
Italy | Veneto
In the post-holiday calm, after all the rich meals and fancy bottles, simple food accompanied by unassuming bottles like Gregoletto’s Verdiso offer a quiet reset after a season of celebration. This is a gentle white wine, neither steely nor chiseled, but don’t mistake gentleness for a lack of character. I doubt you will, as each glass softly caresses your palate with a wave of green apple fruit, and soothes with aromas of herbs and wildflowers. Sometimes a whisper is more effective than a shout.
2022 Monferrato Rosso
Italy | Piedmont
We all need a go-to red for tricky food pairings and easygoing evenings. This laid-back, Barbera-based rosso, created just for us by the Bodda family, has the soft fruit and gentle tannins to roll with about anything, not only Italian food. From spicy dishes with a bit of heat to funky, fermented fare, if takeout is on the menu and a bottle of Tenuta la Pergola’s Monferrato Rosso is on your wine rack, then you’re all set, because sometimes the best part of a casual evening is not overthinking it.
2023 Valle d’Itria Bianco “Faraone”
Italy | Puglia
A crisp white wine from a hot climate almost seems like a magical impossibility, yet here’s one, and a delicious one at that. Made from Verdeca, which is native to sun-baked Puglia in southern Italy, I Pástini’s Faraone has a briny nose, like a freshly shucked oyster spritzed with lemon. In the glass it’s refreshingly clean with a hint of mandarin, followed by a beguiling finish that draws you irresistibly toward the next sip.
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