I’m in love for the first time. At least that’s how it feels.
Paolo Pasini, spreading the love…
It’s hot out. The sun is shining. The ocean is a deeper shade of blue. The sand is sparkling under my toes, and everything feels like a celebration. This is the time of year for bright, easy-to-drink white wines. Cold, crisp and bursting with summer-fruit flavor, screaming acidity, and fresh, fruity aromatics. 
This is why I am in love for the first time. With Paolo Pasini’s Trebbiano di Lugana. Paolo’s winery, San Giovanni, has been making this bright, happy wine for decades. The 2012 vintage spent just 12 hours macerating on the skins, but I think it gives the wine a special kind of crunchy-bright-structure to this refreshing white. It has a weighty mid-palate that lets it pair well with oilier, grilled fish, like a whole Branzino, or barbecued salmon.
Paolo and Birk. OG.
There has been much discussion regarding the origin and definition of Trebbiano di Lugana, locally known on the banks of the Lago di Garda as “Turbiana“. The real meat of the issue is that the grape (Turbiana, or Trebbiano di Lugana), is not the same as Trebbiano found in Tuscany, Umbria, or any other part of Italy. It has a weight, a structure, and a range of aromatics that make it easily distinguished. Genetically, there are many studies citing it’s close link to Verdicchio… just to add to the confusion!
The main point is, Turbiana, Verdicchio, Trebbiano di Lugana… is delicious. You’ll fall in love too. Guaranteed.