This Northern Italian Alpine blend of 95 percent Schiava and 5 percent Lagrein is a pretty, rather light garnet color. Simple but appealing on the nose and palate, it offers a lightly spicy raspberry and cranberry scent and tart red-fruit flavor shaped by crisp, food-friendly acidity. It doesn’t seem tannic at first, but some astringency becomes more apparent with subtle red berries and a hint of stony minerality in the long, clean finish. On the light side at 12.5 percent alcohol, enchancing its versatility at the table. U.S. importer: De Grazia Imports LLC, Evanston, Ill. (Oct. 15, 2016)

FOOD MATCH: The light red nicely complements the rich dairy flavors of a light Manchego cheese sauce over spaghetti. For a more traditional match, look to roast or grilled chicken or lean beef.

WHEN TO DRINK: This lighter-style wine is best enjoyed within a few years of the vintage, but I wouldn’t worry about holding it for a year or two.

VALUE:
It’s a great buy at my local price, which matches the $13 average retail price reported on Wine-Searcher.com

WEB LINK
Here’s a link to a page about San Pietro from distributor Michael Skurnik, with links to all its wines.

Here’s more on San Pietro Schiava from importer Marc De Grazia.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Here’s a link to vendors and prices for San Pietro Alto Adige Schiava on Wine-Searcher.com. If you’d like to try Schiava/Trollinger/Vernatch from other producers and parts of the vine-growing world, try this Schiava page on Wine-Searcher.com. Page down past the grape information to find links to a couple of dozen examples.