The beverage director has the same standing as the chef.

Cleto Chiarli-style grower · Emilia-Romagna

The great pizza red. Bone-dry, bright cranberry, frothy pink foam, low alcohol, a friendly bitter finish. Open it, share it, order another.

Pour with: Cup-and-char pepperoni. Sunday Gravy. Diavola. Any red pie, honestly.

Lambrusco di Sorbara · low-intervention

Ca' del Bosco-style grower · Lombardia

Italy's answer to Champagne. Toasted brioche, lemon curd, a chalky finish. Drinks well from aperitivo straight through dessert.

Pour with: Start the meal with it. Burrata. The Bianca. Olive oil cake.

Chardonnay, Pinot Nero

Benanti-style grower · Sicily, Mount Etna

Salty, citrus-pith, almond-skin Carricante from old vines on volcanic soil. The kind of white that drinks like a great Chablis at half the price.

Pour with: Bianca, Funghi, the Clam Pie when it's running.

Carricante

Borgo del Tiglio-style grower · Friuli, Collio

Pear skin, salted almond, white-pepper finish. The Friulian classic, built for prosciutto and bread, which we happen to make.

Pour with: Prosciutto + focaccia, Bianca, Quattro Formaggi.

Friulano

Argiolas-style grower · Sardinia

Sea breeze in a glass. Grapefruit pith, green almond, a saline pull on the finish. The pour you don't have to think about.

Pour with: Clam Pie. Tricolore. The Patate.

Vermentino

Pietradolce-style grower · Sicily, Mount Etna

Volcanic-soil red with the perfume of Burgundy and the bite of the south, wild strawberry, rooibos, a smoky finish like wet basalt. Light on its feet, serious on the palate.

Pour with: The Diavola, the Margherita, anything with charred crust talking to the fire.

Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio · low-intervention

Monteraponi-style grower · Tuscany

Old-school Sangiovese, sour cherry, dried herb, terra-cotta, that scratchy tannin that asks for tomato sauce. The reason Chianti exists.

Pour with: Margherita. Marinara. Polpette. The Sunday Gravy whole pan.

Sangiovese · low-intervention

Vajra-style grower · Piedmont, Langhe

Tar and roses, the cliché that still holds. Long, savory, tannic and patient, open early, let it breathe an hour, then settle in.

Pour with: Funghi e Tartufo. The whole pan Sunday Gravy. A long Tuesday with people you like.

Nebbiolo

Mastroberardino-style grower · Basilicata

Black plum, leather, a long iron finish, southern Italy's quiet heavyweight. Tannin for days, in the best way.

Pour with: 'Nduja & Honey. Sunday Gravy. The Diavola if you want a fight.

Aglianico · low-intervention

Radikon-style grower · Friuli, Carso

Long skin contact, no fining, no filtering. Dried apricot, black tea, beeswax, a tannic grip you don't expect from a white. The wine that breaks the rules and converts the skeptic.

Pour with: Quattro Formaggi with the hot honey. Roasted vegetables. The Mortadella.

Ribolla Gialla · low-intervention