Grape Varietals
A plain-language guide to Barbera: its character, flavor, and food pairings. Piedmont's friendly, food-loving everyday red, full of fruit, with a recommended bottle.
A plain-language guide to Merlot: its character, flavor, and food pairings. A soft, approachable red and a great entry point, with a recommended bottle.
What is Nero d'Avola? A Tokyo-based Italian importer explains Sicily's signature black grape: its taste, regional styles, serving temperature and food pairings, plus three bottles we import, from a fresh organic style to a structured top cuvee.
A plain-language guide to Vermentino: its character, flavor, and food pairings. A fresh, mineral white grown by the sea, the ideal partner for seafood, with a recommended bottle.
A plain-language guide to Pinot Grigio: its character, flavor, and food pairings. Italy's most popular white, crisp and food-friendly, with a recommended bottle.
Primitivo is Puglia's fruit-rich, dry red grape. Its shared DNA with Zinfandel and Tribidrag, the double-harvest Doppio Passo, pairings from yakiniku to teriyaki, and the bottle Swirl imports to Japan first and exclusively.