2019 Erste & Neue Kellerei Pinot Grigio Alto Adige 750 ml

We’d challenge you to find a better Pinot Grigio than Erste + Neue. It’s a perfect modern example of the grape—an absolute rockstar of a $20 white wine, with enough fruit and complexity to work on its own, but the brightness and personality to be a slam-dunk pairing with an enormous range of food.

High in the Dolomite mountains, Alto Adige’s rocky soils and cool climate allow for beautifully produced crisp whites. This is ground zero for Pinot Grigio that has brightness to go along with the grape’s trademark cheerful fruit and spice—and Erste + Neue’s excellent 2019 version has captured our hearts and palates. With its zesty personality and mineral drive, this isn’t your grandma’s Pinot Grigio—but we’re sure she’d get down with the wine’s charming fruit and easy-to-love personality.

In the glass, we were immediately struck by this wine’s complexity and beauty on the nose. Aromas of acacia blossoms, Newtown Pippin apples, and Asian Pears form a swirling foundation with raw almond, hints of nutmeg, and rain-soaked slate gliding in and out of focus on top. On the palate, the wine shows a gorgeous texture, with more richness on the palate than the delicate aromas give away. The flavors are pure and bright, with succulent pear, tart white peach, and Meyer lemon zest leading into a dense, mineral-filled finish.

That we can offer this wine for $20 is a testament to the standard of white-winemaking in Alto Adige’s farmer cooperatives—some of the best in the world. Erste + Neue takes its name from the first (Erste) and newest (Neue) cooperatives in Caldaro, one of the most important towns along Bolzano’s “Wine Road,” and is a gleaming example of what a talented winemaker like Gerhard Sanin can do with a wealth of raw materials at his disposal.

Erste + Neue is Fair N’ Green Certified for sustainable viticulture, working with over 400 different small growers, all practicing organic farming. That’s a big edge for Gerhard, who has a lot of different terroirs to work with—and all from small, family farms that devote a level of attention to detail. Gerhard ferments the wines in stainless steel to preserve freshness and minerality,and the result is one of the finest values in Italian white wine we’ve tasted this year.

Whether you’re looking for a wine to have on the porch with a book and a rocking chair, or something that pairs effortlessly with fish and chicken alike, Erste + Neue’s got an easy, everyday charm that makes decision-making simple: You’ll want a case.