Claudio Vio Riviera Ligure di Ponente Pigato 2021

Pigato grows throughout Liguria, but the best is in the “zona dell’ albenganese”, or the region around and above the coastal town of Albenga. Jancis Robinson’s Wine Grapes book says, “Morphological and DNA comparisons have clearly established that… Pigato and Vermentino are one and the same variety”, but Ligurian growers disagree. The grapes certainly don’t look the same in the vineyard, and the resulting wines taste different, even when vinified the same. The name “Pigato” comes from a dialect word meaning freckled and refers to the spotted appearance of the grape skins.

It’s here, in the tiny village of Vendone, 12 kilometers inland and 300 meters above the sea, that Ettore and Natalina Vio planted vines and olive trees amidst the mountain scrub in the 1970s. Their son Claudio and his wife, Maria Grazia, now tend the family farm.

When the wine is young, use it as you would other Ligurian whites – that is, as an aperitivo and with fish and lighter vegetable dishes, including pesto). As the wine ages, it will stand up to stronger dishes (game birds?) and aged cheeses and becomes a candidate for a vino da meditazione.