Recently a customer announced to us that she'd been on quite the pasta bender, to which we immediately responded with an emphatic "hell ya!". In that moment it occurred to me that I'd been on a similar sort of bender but with Italian white wine. For me, no other country consistently offers such fantastic wines that every serious wine drinker can afford. This month's example, by third-generation grower-winemaker Segio Marani and his two sons, is a high mountain terroir masterclass. It opens with an intricate burst of preserved lemons, saffron blossoms, and an herbal garigue buoyed by delicate white flowers. The palate is full of contrast with fantastic mineral tension against the rounded, medium-bodied texture where you'll find citrus pith, saffron, beeswax, and green apple. At the dinner table this Verdicchio evolves wonderfully as it slowly comes up in temperature. Reward yourself often with a plate of pasta and some Italian Vino Bianco!
