You'd be forgiven for not being familiar with brachetto, one of Italy's many generally-overlooked varieties. My first contact with this particular grape was 26 years ago while traveling from Nice to Tuscany. The coastal route between these two places takes you through Liguria, the birthplace of pesto. It was there that I first encountered Brachetto d'Acqui with a lunch of fresh pasta slathered in the aforementioned sauce. Sublime doesn't even begin to describe it.
Just north of Liguria is the small city of Acqui Terme, the Acqui in Brachetto d'Acqui. In this southern part of Piedmont, brachetto is usually made into an effervescent dessert wine, typically served chilled. But there are always outliers, like Azienda Agricola Sottimano.
These mad scientists farm their grapes organically, allow the wines to ferment with ambient yeasts, and skip fining and filtering. Their brachetto, the 2025 Sottimano Maté ($20,) is fermented dry and bottled young. The result is nothing short of an eye-popping riot of wild roses and fresh, bright red fruit framed by delicate acidity. Though the underpining subtle funkiness not for everyone, you'd be hard-pressed to not to find this irresistable with a meal.
