Damilano, Barolo Chinato, NV (1L)

Barolo Chinato began life as a 19th-century apothecary tonic and somehow ended up as the best after-dinner drink in Piedmont. The recipe starts with real Barolo, which is then infused with cinchona bark, the bitter quinine-bearing bark that gives the drink its name, along with a house blend of spices, then sweetened and fortified. What you get is a wine that tastes like Nebbiolo wearing a spice cabinet: bittersweet, aromatic, warming. Serve it at cool room temperature or lightly chilled, in a small glass, after dinner. It is transcendent with dark chocolate, and perfectly happy on its own. Damilano bottles theirs in a full liter, which tells you how they expect you to use it.