2021 Tenuta La Pergola Monferrato Rosso

From the hills of northwestern Italy, between the Ligurian Sea and the Alps, comes this Monferrato Rosso, a country blend of Piemonte's classic red grape varieties: Barbera, Dolcetto, Bonarda, and Freisa. The ultimate lunchtime carafe rosso, it shows exquisite balance-just the right amount of tannin and acidity-and yields almost infinite pairing options, from pasta with your favorite bolognese sauce to burritos with a little bit of spice. I opened it alongside an herby lentil salad tossed with toasted hazelnuts and crispy garlic, which was a tasty pairing, but I found myself dreaming of meatier dishes to match its plummy black fruit and velvety texture: charred meats, fire-roasted peppers, and tender flank steak come to mind.

As consistently delicious as our Piemontese house rosso tastes, it is not by any means identical year after year. Depending on vintage conditions, the blend changes, and in 2020, Alessandra Bodda upped the percentage of Barbera, imbuing this bottle with a little more body and bite than usual. The result is an Italian take on a smoky Côtes-du-Rhône; it's stony with a hint of violet and loads of dark and tangy berries.