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Summer Whites

A Note from Sergio            

Summer on the Italian Riviera is hot. In the past few weeks, the sky has turned a Technicolor shade of blue that seems to have been originated in Saturday afternoon cartoons, and when the sun is out and the sky is clear--which happens often--the ocean becomes a kaleidoscope of subtle blues and greens. It's beautiful, and it's tempting because the weather is so warm that the water calls you to it. You just want to dive in and hear the sizzle sound of your hot skin in the cool Mediterranean.

Weather like this means you take a simple approach to life. You get up early, eat a simple breakfast of ripe cherries from the Veneto and fresh yogurt from a nearby farm. Your lunch is often salad, but the greens are so good, so vibrant and so fresh, the meal's sustaining. Add a little olive oil from your favorite producer (and Italians will argue long and hard for their favorites), a slice of bread, and you're happy. Dinner is almost always seafood--succulent heads-on shrimp with that savory sweetness born of warm ocean waters, delicate grilled octopus their edges turned a tempting black, a roasted fish awash in acidic tomatoes and kissed with fresh herbs--and it's almost always accompanied by a crisp, chilled, thirst-quenching white wine.

Italian white wines have that magical ability to speak of their terroir that Italian reds do. The ones from the coast have this salinity, as if they've been splashed with sea spray. The ones from the mountains have this meadow freshness; you can smell the wildflowers and the pines that grew alongside them. These wines, like their red counterparts, could come from no other place on earth. They're Italian through and through; they make food taste better than it would on its own; and they transport you to Italy in one whiff, one sip, one swallow.

This week I'm delighted to bring you a bunch of Italian white wines for your summer table. Don't let the low price points fool you--I chose these wines because they're good. Some are varietals you'll be familiar with, some you may find new, but all of them will make your hot days and nights feel a little cooler. Drench yourself in summer whites. It's what we do in Italy, and it's a fitting way to celebrate this brief, beautiful, hot season.

My Best,