2025 Langhe Nebbiolo, Trediberri
Federico Oberto spent thirty-five years — from 1970 until his retirement in 2005 — as cellar man for Renato Ratti, one of Barolo's defining traditionalists. So when Federico, his son Nicola, and family friend Vladimiro Rambaldi bought five hectares in Berri, a hamlet at the extreme western edge of the Barolo zone, in 2007, they weren't chasing a trend; they were building on three decades of Federico's classical training. Trediberri has no coat of arms and no interest in pretending otherwise — "we have no history and that is fine by us," they say — but they do have a firm idea of what makes a wine worth drinking to the last glass: not power, but balance. A wine that's all muscle might impress you for a sip or two, but it's the balanced ones people actually finish. The Langhe Nebbiolo is where that idea shows up most approachable and unguarded.
The facts
100% Nebbiolo, sourced mostly from La Morra and Levice, with small parcels from Vicoforte and Monticello d'Alba (Roero)
Fermented in concrete, 10–12 days, with malolactic to follow
Aged in concrete and steel — no oak; bottled spring 2026
Best served slightly cool
In the glass
Pale garnet and lively in the glass, this opens with sour cherry, dried rose, and a twist of orange peel that keeps things from feeling one-note. The palate is where the unoaked winemaking really shows its hand: bright acid and fine, sandy tannin doing all the work that oak usually gets credit for, with nothing standing between you and the fruit. A saline, faintly herbal finish closes things out — Nebbiolo without the ceremony. Pair with a mixed charcuterie board, tagliatelle with a slow-cooked meat ragù, or any dinner where the conversation matters more than the wine list.
2025 DAMA Wines Grenache Blanc
When Devin Derby died suddenly in 2004, his widow Mary was left raising a young son and figuring out what came next — until nine Walla Walla wineries got together and donated enough juice to fill what Mary calls "a very large barrel of love." That barrel became DAMA, founded in 2007 with friend Dawn Kammer. Two decades later, the winery still works the way it started: no single estate, just a rotating cast of Columbia Valley and Walla Walla vineyards that winemaker Mary Derby selects block by block, vintage by vintage, for whatever she's trying to say that year. This year, with Grenache Blanc, she's saying summer.
The facts
100% Grenache Blanc, Columbia Valley AVA
91 points, James Suckling (May 2026); Double Gold, 94 points, PNW Wine Competition (June 2026)
Best served well-chilled
In the glass
Pale gold in the glass, the 2025 opens with pineapple and lychee, a tropical bouquet generous enough to notice from across the table. The palate carries that same fruit further, with a caramelized edge to the pineapple that reads almost dessert-like, before bright, medium acidity steps in and keeps everything honest. Nothing here gets syrupy. This is a wine built for a full table of very different food: a spicy Thai curry, grilled scallops, a peach-and-burrata salad, or a hot afternoon with nothing to pair it against but the weather.
2023 Domaine Rostaing "Le Vassal," Languedoc
René Rostaing spent his first career as a notary. His second, which started with a half-acre each in Côte Blonde and La Landonne back in 1971, turned him into the closest thing to a cult star that Côte-Rôtie has produced not named Guigal — a reputation sealed when his father-in-law and his uncle, two of the appellation's most storied growers, retired and left him their vines. By the late 1990s, René and his wife had developed an itch for a different kind of limestone, so they bought a property in the Languedoc near Nîmes specifically to grow Syrah somewhere that wasn't a 60-degree slope. Le Vassal is what that side project looks like when it's allowed to be exactly as serious as the main event.
The facts
70% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre, 15% Grenache
Limestone soils; low yields
Just 1,000 cases produced
Best served at cool cellar temperature
In the glass
Deep ruby and unmistakably serious in the glass, the 2023 opens with dark plum and blackberry that reads almost sweet, backed by the peppery, savory edge that's classic Syrah character. The palate is where the blend does its job: Syrah supplies the structure and dark fruit, Mourvèdre adds a rustic, earthy undertow, and Grenache softens the whole thing into something genuinely plush — a texture one importer accurately calls luxuriously viscous. Pair with grilled lamb, duck confit, or anything off a charcoal grill that wants a wine with real weight behind it.