Bruna Vermentino '22

Any discussion of the great white wines of Italy must include Liguria. The region is still largely unknown for its wines, partly because it’s a small zone of wine production, and partly because its terrain along the Italian Riviera offers little farmable land. As one of the most beautiful parts of Italy, tourism throughout the summer can be heavy, and all those thirsty visitors deplete much of the annual production. Finally, the majority of producers in Liguria have very little wine to sell, and as such don’t have the ability to market the wines like those in some of Italy’s regions who more easily gain notoriety.

Azienda Agricola Bruna produces about 3,000 cases of wine from its eight hectares of vineyards in the Arroscia Valley, in western Liguria. Bruna is known as the benchmark producer of the Pigato variety, which the family refers to as a biotype of Vermentino. This bottling of single-vineyard Vermentino comes from the village of Pogli, which lies east of Ranzo, the home base for Bruna. The soils of the Garaxin vineyard are limestone with white and blue clay. The grapes are harvested by hand, pressed, and fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine underwent partial malolactic fermentation.

Bruna makes this bottling of Vermentino in a bright, refreshing style. The nose is defined by citrusy notes of lemon and grapefruit, along with melon and peach and a fresh herbal character. Like all Bruna’s wines, it has excellent balance. Drink this as an aperitif, or pair it with simply prepared shellfish.