INSIDER'S PICK: 2018 BONIPERTI VIGNAIOLO VESPOLINA COLLINE NOVARESI 'FAVOLALUNGA' $21.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

With Thanksgiving approaching more rapidly than many of us would like to admit, it's actually a good time to start thinking about what to serve and accumulating some special bottles to avoid the late rush. Beaujolais and the Gamay grape is of course one of the classic all-purpose pairings, soft and savory with very easy tannins that meld with the broad spectrum of foods at the traditional holiday table. But Gamay isn't the only game in town, just the best publicized. Vespolina is the primary 'everyday' grape in the Northern Piedmont region near the city of Novara, at one time famous for Nebbiolo based wines from Gattinara and other sites, but post WWII lost a lot of the vineyards due to the rural population moving to big cities hoping to find work. The last few decades has seen a return to agricultural life here, and with it the rise of small producers revitalizing the sloped vineyards. Working barely 10 acres among three separate sites, Bonaperti has been a leading name here, and his Vespolina is routinely among the best examples of the grape every vintage. Juicy cherry and raspberry skin fruit on the nose with dark spice and tobacco leaf notes parallel the juicy/gamey combo of Gamay, a big aroma given some time open but never intense or blowing you back from the glass. The mouthfeel is a little fuller and darker than a Beaujolais but with similar juiciness and super-fine tannin texture that leaves just a kiss of dustiness behind, bringing out all the lovely dark savory nuances of the fruit. This is the type of wine that really shine with the gamey dark meats and savory side dishes, sausage or oyster stuffing, etc., but can still treat the lighter foods quite nicely.

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