Pelaverga is Piedmont’s answer to Cru Beaujolais – there, we said it. It might be a crude, somewhat misguided comparison, but for a grape that delivers such an incredible amount of ‘interesting’ coupled with both sheer drinkability and pocket friendly pricing – well, it’s hard not to draw parallels. Castello di Verduno's bottling is a stellar example of the estate’s firm handle on the varietal – pulsating red fruit vibrancy, oodles of rose petal-y floral spice and an intriguing undercurrent of peppercorn (maybe red, maybe white?) that is so indicative of the grape. This is a bottle that we at the shop crush in large quantities whenever it’s on the shelves – it’s one of those rare, ‘goes with everything and nothing,’ drink year round, habit-forming wines that we always want up our sleeves but never seem to have enough of around.