Ronchi di Cialla, Ciallarosso, 2021

This is a resurrection in a bottle—literally. Schioppettino, Friuli's indigenous red, was officially extinct in 1970. Ronchi di Cialla saved it. Paolo and Dina Rapuzzi recovered 70 surviving vines from scattered locations and replanted them, earning the prestigious Risit D'Aur Prize for their conservation work. Now their sons continue the mission with the same organic rigor and minimal intervention philosophy. The 2021 vintage, warm and favorable across Friuli, brought concentrated fruit and excellent balance. Cialloarosso (meaning "red from Cialla") delivers juicy dark berries, wild herbs, earthy charm, and a structure that speaks to the Ponca soils—that crumbling mixture of marl and sandstone forged by millions of years of Alpine tectonics. There's history in this wine: it's the only expression of this specific cru thanks to Ronchi's monopole status. It's also uncompromising: unfined, unfiltered, minimal sulfite, made to pair with real food and prove that nearly-extinct doesn't mean inferior.