Le Vigne Bio, in the town of La Morra in the Piedmont region of Italy showcases wines from winemakers using biodynamic and organic processes. The wine bar’s temporary, raised outdoor patio (reminiscent of a small music stage) was across the street and abutting the face of the La Morra town hall, which is just about to the top of the hill where the via San Martino meets the Parrocchia di San Martino. The wines by the glass, including several sparkling options, were written in chalk on a blackboard leaning against the town hall wall. Several small tables and chairs were arranged and two sets occupied by a visiting German family on this cool late afternoon in early September. It was a perfect time for J and I to sit down for an aperitivo on our first day in La Morra.
Eyeing the sparkling, I went with the na Punta (2012) an Extra Brut produced by Franco Conterno, based in Monforte d’Alba just across the hills. What a find! The pale gold color of the na Punta delivered a dry smoky taste that was so unexpected from a sparkling. Made from 100 percent Nebbiolo grape (the grape of this, the Piedmont region of Italy), na Punta had a heft I hadn’t tasted before in a sparkling. I sipped mine while nibbling on a selection of salumi, the aperitivo food complement to our glasses of wine.
I was wracking my brain trying to think of ways to carry back some na Punta despite only traveling with small, international-size carry-on bags. Was the na Punta worth investing in a large hard-sided suitcase? Would we be crazy to pay more outrageous shipping fees to the US and buy a case to be shipped from Le Vigne Bio’s friendly owner, Severino Oberto? In the end, sensibility won out, but we took a photo of the bottle just in case we might find it back home. We didn’t. Franco Conterno distributes some of their wines, but not the sparkling na Punta, in the US. J surprised me, though, and for Christmas, he ordered a half case from the winery and we enjoyed na Punta on a twinkling Christmas Eve on Hilton Head Island. Most appropriately, with elegant Poached Oysters, light and tangy with Pickled Cucumber and Caviar.
But Where Are We Going To EAT? 
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