I want to draw from your memory a family-style restaurant where the food is served with a heaping side of nostalgia. Where the walls are strewn with signed headshots of celebrities, and the proprietor posing with the star of a Scorcese film or ’90s supermodel. The calamari is crispy, the chicken parm overflows off the plate, the linguine is glossy and tossed with garlicky clams, and there’s hardly room left on the table to fit the fettuccine bolognese or veal marsala. If you haven’t guessed it already, you are in a Red Sauce Italian joint where neither the recipes nor the clientele has changed for generations. Today’s sampler is inspired by the cuisine and the experience of these mythical restaurants, with a selection of twelve bottles that would pair beautifully alongside (but are not limited to) homestyle Italian-American cooking.
     On this dream wine list of sorts, I’d swap out the Soave and basic Pinot Grigio for spry and tangy whites like Vignato’s Garganega or La Marca’s stony Verdicchio, and I’d add a proper Chianti Classico like Castagnoli’s, which is organically grown and bursting with energy. I’d wash down any insalata or house zuppa with a chilled and peppery Rosesse from Anfosso, and crush a mound of lasagna with Benevelli’s violet-scented Dolcetto or a seaside Cannonau from Sardinia like the one from Vigne Rada. It may not be the time or place for a fancy Barolo, but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at an everyday Nebbiolo such as Tintero’s punchy Barbaresco. With food inspired by southern Italian cooking, I’d be remiss not to include Portelli’s perfumey Frappato or the smoky Etna Rosso from Vigneti Vecchio, two Sicilian wines to make you swoon. And lastly, with dessert—be it a slice of ricotta cheesecake or a pile of pignoli cookies—I’d enjoy a glass of Gregoletto’s yeasty col fondo Prosecco. There you have it, the dining experience of my dreams!