From: Puglia, Italy
Varietal: Verdeca
Taste: A definite Sancerre-like intensity with an equally impressive spine that leads to a lengthy, mineral (saline) finish. Lemon and grapefruit citrus lead, highlighted by an extremely pretty white flower note. Herbaceous notes follow, not grassy- think of rounded green herbs like basil, sage, and thyme. The palate is impressive and rich, though it finishes high and briny; an easy pick for anyone who loves Chablis, Sancerre, Albariño & northern French/Italian white wines.
Pairing: Pair this as you would any of the wines above. Seafood works wonderfully well; anything from fish and chips to scallop crudo (we especially love with clam and calamari). Fresh greens, salads— especially with great olive oil. Also, because this wine has such a great structure in its lip-smacking acidity, it’s an easy fit with hard-to-pair foods like say, artichokes (see below for the recipe to our pairing suggestion).
Artichoke Carbonara
By Anna Francese Gass
About the winery. I Pàstini 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.