2019 Cantine di Ora Il Casato Pinot Grigio Valdadige Italy 750 ml

We couldn’t believe it—the daybright-hued 2019 Cantine di Ora Il Casato Pinot Grigio, at $15 per bottle, was everything our favorite NYC sommelier had promised it would be. The beauty of this wine, and then its value, stopped us in our tracks.

Ripe, juicy, and finely textured, this wine had the chiseled acidity of the northern Alps, and the fleshy, floral ripeness that’s a signature of Italian heat. Fragrant yellow peach, green apple, and lemon brightened the palate with a hint of salinity, all filling out a luscious body.

One of Italy’s top wine authorities, Luca Maroni, lifted this bottle to the heights of the vintage with 96 points, calling it “a wine of an excellent balance.” That puts it in the company of top bottlings from Friuli, which don’t come cheap, running upwards of $70. Yet today’s effortless sipper comes in at $15.

Our sommelier buddy 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’ll put his finely tuned palate up against any critic’s.

Last summer, he went on his honeymoon in Italy, bouncing along the eastern coast on a Michelin-starred culinary gadabout that made us salivate with jealousy. But when he and his wife 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 this gem of a white.

“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 hail from deep, rich soils and warm microclimates that stretch between Roveré della Luna and Vallagarina, lending the wine a decidedly Alsatian complexion. While vinified in stainless steel, the attack suggests sweetness—even if the wine is analytically dry—providing just enough peach juiciness to perfectly complement a hunk of Bela Badia or pan-seared fish.

While recently reliving the memory of the trip while flipping through photos, our friend texted us a picture of the label (the pool glittering in the background). “Get this in the U.S., please? We want some for our anniversary.”

After a few weeks of negotiation, a second set of cases has finally landed stateside. Trust us: You can't have enough of this one in your cellar.