Today’s wine came into my life at the perfect time—one of the many cold, rainy days that have defined our winter so far here in Northern California. Amid this gloom, La Baia del Sole’s Vermentino “Sarticola” shone like the summer sun.
It wasn’t the wine’s name (“Sunny Bay”) or its evocative label that prompted this reverie. It was the wine itself—a delicious, golden-hued melding of tropical fruits, herbs, and sea spray that sent everyone’s spirits soaring. And make no mistake: This is a substantial wine, not a simple salty rinse. It can stand up to the season, much as we may associate the Vermentino grape with beachfront locales and the glinting Mediterranean sun. When it comes to real ‘wines of place,’ it doesn’t get more real than Vermentino (a.k.a. Rolle in France), and as far as I’m concerned, any time is the right time to drink a white this tasty. Who’s with me?
Sarticola’s appellation of origin is the Colli di Luni DOC, a stretch of Mediterranean coast shared by the regions of Liguria and Tuscany. Based in the town of Ortonovo, where, as the Federici family describes it, “the Apuan Alps hurl themselves against the sea,” La Baia del Sole is technically on the Ligurian side. The hillside hamlet of Ortonovo is just across the regional border from Carrara, home to famous marble quarries, and the current generation of Federicis is the fifth to tend vines in the area. They created La Baia del Sole in 1985, centering production on a handful of heirloom vineyards including “Vigna Sarticola,” an old-vine parcel that provides the fruit for today’s wine.
Not far from Ortonovo, closer to the sea, is the small commune of Luni itself, which lends its name to the broader wine region surrounding it (historically known as Lunigiana). The Colli di Luni (“hills of Luni”) refers to vineyards that are wedged between the Apuan Alps (which connect with the Apennine range right around here) and the Mediterranean. Surrounded by fragrant Mediterranean scrub and dense forest, the Colli di Luni vineyards are rooted in a mix of rocky clay, sand, and silt infused with lots of iron (thus all the mining/quarry activity in the area), and the Vermentino grape truly seems to soak up every element of its surroundings—the minerality; the green-herb aromas and flavors; and yes, the sun, manifested in both texture and tropical fruit sensations.
Named for its source vineyard, which sits at about 300 meters’ elevation, the 2016 “Sarticola” was crafted from grapes harvested in early October and subjected to a brief skin maceration before fermentation and aging in stainless steel. It is floral, mineral, and refreshingly racy, but it is also fleshy and satisfying: In the glass, it’s a deep yellow-gold with flecks of green, with fresh aromas of yellow peach, green and yellow apple, green mango and melon, mint, eucalyptus, sea salt, and wet stones. It is medium-plus in body, showing great palate persistence before a wave of freshness crashes ashore and starts you salivating. It is ready to drink now: Simply pull the cork and enjoy at 45-50 degrees in all-purpose white wine stems. Liguria being the land of pesto, you can’t go wrong with a pesto pasta pairing here, although I also love a loose pesto drizzled over firm fish like swordfish. The point is, you can’t eat braised beef and drink Barolo every night, winter or not. Let the sunshine in!
