Italy has hundreds of native grapes and a long tradition of farmers making wine for their own table, and that's exactly the spirit we look for. Right now our Italian shelf leans orange: white grapes left on their skins for color, grip and a little tea-like edge.
Where to start: GraWü's Chourmo and their skin-contact Pinot Grigio are both great entry points. Ananda's Syrius is an orange Garganega, and Terre di Confine's Lincontro is Vermentino from Liguria. For old-school Friulian skin contact, Nikolas Juretic's Toc di Montone brings Malvasia Istriana, Ribolla and Friulano together. Want red? Ananda's Georgeous is a Merlot made for pizza and pasta night. For bubbles, Braccia Rese's Pinq is a frizzante pét-nat. Jean-Yves Péron's I Vicini Cortese is a special white with only a few bottles left.
Serve the orange wines cool, not cold, with pasta, cured meats and anything with good olive oil.
