2017 Tiare Sauvignon Blanc Collio Italy 750 ml

Friuli in Northern Italy makes some of the greatest white wines in the world—and when they had their own earth-shattering “Judgment of Paris” moment in 2014, it was Tiare’s Sauvignon Blanc that took down the titans. 

Tiare ruffled major French feathers by marching into the Concours Mondial du Sauvignon, the top worldwide competition for Sauvignon Blanc, and besting every bottle from Sancerre, Bordeaux, New Zealand, and beyond. And since that triumphant day, winemaker Roberto Snidarcig has shown no sign of slowing down. His mouthwatering white now sets the standard in Friuli, having taken home a Tre Bicchieri award from Gambero Rosso (Italy’s top honor) for six vintages straight. 

Roberto’s 2017 is the rare Sancerre-like stunner that you can afford to drink whenever the urge strikes. Bursting with citrus rind, zesty lemon, and an energizing palate of slate and smoke from Friuli’s unique ponca soils, this bone-dry Sauv Blanc is an achievement that belongs with the very best in the world.

While gourmands from all over the world descend on the tiny town of Los Gatos, California to pay $295 per person at chef David Kinch’s three-Michelin star Manresa, savvy locals lounge at The Bywater, Kinch’s bayou-inspired bistro. It’s where we first met Alex, a Friuli native and Italian wine expert and importer whose US home base is just around the corner—and who is always armed with a white wine that elevates Kinch’s cuisine. 

Last time we met at The Bywater, Alex started pouring our glass of Tiare Sauvignon Blanc as soon as we walked through the door. “I always like to start the meal with Tiare, because it makes the appetite,” Alex said, just a few minutes before three dozen oysters, two Po Boys, and a basket of fried chicken hit the table. “Then again, I like to end the meal with Tiare, too.” 

As we slurped oysters and sipped the racy Sauv Blanc, our talk turned to the producer that inspired Alex to found his importing company—he couldn’t bear the thought of his adopted land missing out on the greatest white wines of his home. And “In Friuli,” as Alex says, “Roberto’s the man for Sauvignon.”  

Tiare consists of just 30 acres of vineyard land that enjoy Collio’s unique position between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps, which are just 35 or 40 miles away from each other. The two influences make beautiful aromatic wines with driven minerality and salinity from grapes planted in ponca—Friuli’s unique combination of brittle fossil-laden marl and sandstone.

Tiare is a very young winery—only about a decade old—that thanks to the expertise of Roberto and the precious terroir, it never really went through a painful growing-up phase. “It was super-popular from the beginning,” as Alex puts it. And after Tiare beat the best of Sancerre and Bordeaux at their own game and on their own turf in ‘14, then won Gambero Rosso’s Best Emerging Winery award in 2015, Friuli had its new superstar. 

When Alex started splitting time between Italy and the US, he realized that many of the top wines from his own backyard were unavailable in his adopted country, so with Tiare at the top of his mind, he founded an importing company. We met him though a friend (and a chance meeting at the Bywater two years ago), and we’re glad we did. We’re thrilled to bring you the 2017 Tiare at the best price in the nation. It’s a Sauvignon Blanc that competes with the best of the world, bar none.