2020 Cantine di Ora Il Casato Pinot Grigio Rose delle Venezie Italy 750 ml

We’ve tasted and offered some under-$15 wines that pack a seemingly impossible amount of vibrancy and complexity for the price. Yet there’s only one that Master Sommelier Sur Lucero called “the most compelling under-$15 wine that I have sourced,” and it’s the 97-point 2020 Cantine di Ora Il Casato Pinot Grigio Rosé.

When we got a taste of this rosé, it didn’t just live up to the hype, it eclipsed the hype entirely, stealing the spotlight with its succulence and levity. It seamlessly blends the fresh acidity and refreshing fruit we love in Pinot Grigio with a texture and minerality that will enthrall fans of Provençal rosés. We didn’t just want another glass or another bottle—we wanted as much as we could get for Wine Access members.

One of Italy’s top wine authorities, Luca Maroni, lifted this bottle to the heights of the vintage with a 97-point score. That puts it in the company of top bottlings from Veneto and Friuli, which can run as high as $70. Yet today’s effortless rosé comes in at a fraction of that price.

We have some of the only cases in the US of this beautifully refreshing and nuanced rosé. Strike early, before we’re all tapped out, and a case (or two) will be your liquid best friend this season.

It’s rare to find rosé crafted from Pinot Grigio—since most of it goes into white wines—but they’re some of the most refreshing, satisfying pink wines out there. As Pinot Grigio ripens, its skin darkens just slightly, and brief skin contact during fermentation gives the wine a vibrant pink hue. A swirl reveals aromas of nectarine, green plum, white strawberry, and cranberry, enticing you to take sip after sip of this crisp, mineral-driven wine, which is accented by white flowers, sliced radishes, and watercress across the palate. 

Cantine di Ora culled this wine from the pristine hills and valleys of Veneto and Trentino, which was Wine Enthusiast’s 2020 Wine Region of the Year, producing white wines that the publication says “boast freshness and finesse.” Here, the soaring peaks of the Dolomites shelter the vines while warm currents run through the valleys, creating diurnal temperature swings that produce this wine’s excellent balance of ripeness and acidity. 

While aging on the lees, the wine gains its body and refreshing smoothness, and emerges as one of the most unique and satisfying rosés we’ve tried. It’s a triumphant wine, and at this price, one to pack away by the case.