2021 Cantine di Ora Il Casato Pinot Grigio Valdadige Italy 750 ml

We couldn’t believe it—the daybright-hued Cantine di Ora Il Casato Pinot Grigio was everything our favorite NYC sommelier had promised it would be. The beauty of this wine stopped us in our tracks…and then proceeded to do the same with our members.

One of Italy’s top wine authorities, Luca Maroni, lifted this bottle to the heights of the vintage with 96 points, putting it in the company of top offerings from Friuli.

We first discovered this gem a few years ago, thanks to a hot tip from one of our New York sommelier friends. He runs one of Manhattan’s best wine programs, curating a collection that’s beloved by both the Médoc-drinking uptown set and the natural-wine downtown sophisticates. We’d put his finely tuned palate up against any critic’s.

When on his honeymoon in Italy, he and his wife had a MICHELIN-starred culinary gadabout that made us salivate with jealousy. When they weren’t toasting their nuptials over a bottle of 1993 Taittinger, they were lying low at a sun-soaked poolside resort. That was where he discovered Cantine di Ora’s Pinot Grigio.

“The owner poured it with abandon,” our friend told us. “He knew a bottle on ice next to a lounge chair in the daytime heat was all he needed to keep guests happy—and spending their money on the premises.”

The grapes emerged from deep, rich soils and warm microclimates that stretch between Roveré della Luna and Vallagarina. Vinified in stainless steel, it’s fresh and invigorating with snappy, crisp edges—the perfect choice to complement a hunk of Bela Badia or pan-seared fish.