My Pastime

Always in search of new varietal stimuli, I recently picked up an elegantly elongated bottle of Bisson's Bianchetta Genovese from 2004, a wine the maker named U Pastine. I am more aware of Bisson's rose, which was suddenly all over Manhattan wine lists last summer (someone owes their publicist a big bouquet). Probably because it's somewhat more costly than your average rose -- roses remaining great bargains in general, much to my cheapskate joy -- and they could get away with asking $38 for the bottle. I drank my fair share, though, and thoroughly enjoyed it, so this white, from the Gulfo del Tigullio DOC near Genoa, naturally piqued my curiosity. A little research reveals a dedicated winemaker in Bisson's Pierluigi Lugano, a man committed to preserving local varietals and production methods, which happily for him involves living in Liguria, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been (beautiful enough that I didn't mind the fleas infesting my hostel bed or the smell of cat piss in my sheets). Many of the vineyards I saw were steeply terraced down to the sea, and I imagine the grapes that went into this bottle growing in such surroundings. The wine itself is light-coloured but full-bodied. A hint of pineapple on the nose grows into a strong herbality, a scent I've come to associate with Italian whites, but generally more Southern ones. Maybe it's the proximity of the sea. In the mouth it is big and tart and a tad rustic, with plenty of seaweed minerality, a touch of sulfur, and barest hint of young peaches. When summer rolls around, this is what I'll be serving with simple grilled fish sprinkled with a little serious olive oil and fresh oregano. It can be purchased for $18 at Brooklyn's Smith and Vine which includes the standard small Brooklyn shop's pass-it-on-your-way-home convenience markup.