Montelocco Bianco

Venturini Baldini

A classic sparkling white of Emilia-Romagna, this brut expression of the region’s chief white variety pours bright yellow with green highlights and a gently frizzante bead and a heady bouquet. Like opening a dole’s fruit cup—the one’s with the preserved peaches and that one red cherry somewhere in there—in the middle of a flower shop, the wine has a juicy, fun-loving flare and an easy acidity. Quite simply, this is a happy wine. At the risk of casting the shadow of kitsch over a seriously well made wine, there is something about this drop that reminds me of my brief but happy addiction to Mountain Dew in the eighth grade. It’s intoxicating. An ideal aperitif with the always difficult to pair egg dishes of Sunday brunch and a fast friend to shellfish and mildly matured cheeses as well.