Fresh Pasta & Old Vines: Italian Family Dinner in Six Bottles
It starts in the kitchen: flour on the counter, eggs cracked into the center, and fresh pasta taking shape by hand while a cold glass of Vermentino waits nearby. The whites carry you through the antipasti and first plates, then the reds take over, from Etna and Tuscany to the mountains of Campania and the Langhe. By the time the Barolo is poured, the plates are clean and nobody's checking the time.
Pull up a chair. Here's what we're pouring.
2025 Bisson Vermentino "Vignerta," Golfo del Tigullio
The Seaside Aperitivo
Ligurian pioneer Piero Lugano grows this Vermentino on steep, rocky hillsides facing the sea. Crisp and saline, with lemon, herbs and a coastal snap that makes it the perfect first pour.
Pair with: Focaccia, fried calamari, pesto anything.
2025 Andrea Felici Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore
The White That Rewrites the Rules
From the high, cool hills of Apiro in the Marche, Leopardo Felici makes whites with real depth: almond, green apple and a long, mineral finish.
Pair with: Grilled branzino, spaghetti alle vongole, fresh mozzarella.
2022 Calabretta "Piede Franco" Rosso, Mt. Etna
The Volcanic Original
Calabretta is one of Etna's great traditionalist names, and "Piede Franco" refers to the ungrafted vines rooted straight into volcanic soil. Red cherry, smoke and a mineral, almost salty finish.
Pair with: Pasta alla Norma, grilled sausage, eggplant parmigiana.
2021 Bramante Cosimi Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany
The Locals' Brunello
In a town that's grown crowded with corporate money, Rudy Cosimi is as down-to-earth as it gets, farming land his family has worked for generations. His Brunello is classic and honest: dark cherry, dried herbs, leather and firm, food-loving structure.
Pair with: Bistecca alla fiorentina, wild boar ragù, pecorino.
2020 Boccella Taurasi "Sant'Eustachio," Campania
The Barolo of the South
High in the misty hills of Irpinia, the Boccella family is the only estate to bottle the Sant'Eustachio contrada on its own: 40- to 50-year-old ungrafted Aglianico vines at 2,000 feet on Castelfranci's steepest slope. It's a true polyculture farm, where geese weed the rows and a truffle dog named Billy hunts the woods. Wild sour cherry, cocoa, white pepper and dried rose ride firm tannins and bright mountain acidity.
Pair with: Braised lamb shank, pappardelle with sausage ragù, aged provolone.
2022 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo del Comune di Verduno, Piedmont
The Grand Finale
Blended from organically farmed vineyards around Verduno, this is Barolo with lift and grace: roses, tar, red fruit and firm tannins built for the main course.
Pair with: Braised short ribs, tajarin with truffle, aged Parmigiano.
