2023 Corte Gardoni Greoto, Bianco di Custoza, Italy

Producer Notes: Our longest-running Italian import is not a Barolo, Chianti Classico, or Brunello di Montalcino but this humble and off-the-beaten-path bianco from the Lake Garda region. And while we love it partly because of the Piccoli family’s infectious devotion to their region’s local grape varieties—Garganega, Trebbiano, Trebbianello, Cortese, and Manzoni Bianco—you can also just love it at face value. With notes of ripe apple and citrus zest, it’s an effortless and delicious sipper at aperitivo or alongside simple pastas.

Founded in the 1970s by the Piccoli family and located in the hills near Lake Garda in the Veneto region, Corte Gardoni farms about 25 hectares of vineyards planted to local varieties such as Garganega, Trebbiano di Soave, Corvina, Rondinella, and Merlot. The estate follows sustainable viticulture with an emphasis on low yields, handwork in the vineyard, and minimal chemical inputs suited to the area’s moraine and clay soils.