Ciavolich, Cococciola, Colline Pescaresi, 2024

Est. delivery in late summer, 2026 Ciavolich is one of Abruzzo's great standard-bearers, a family estate with roots going back to 1853 and a modern winemaking approach that takes the region's indigenous grapes seriously. This Cococciola — a variety so obscure it barely registers outside the Pescara hills — is exactly the kind of wine that makes us love what Ciavolich does. Grown on the Colline Pescaresi, the gentle hills inland from the Adriatic, it's a white of real freshness and personality: bright, saline, aromatic, and utterly food-friendly. We find the 2024 vintage expressive and immediate, with white peach, wild fennel, and a briny mineral edge that speaks of the proximity to the sea. Chill it down, open a bag of clams, and get on with it.