2003 Enoteca Bisson ‘Marea’ Cinque Terre

I’m always on the lookout for alternative white wines, and when I popped the cork on this lovely white from Liguria’s Cinque Terre region, it was instant attraction. The wines from this gorgeous coast are mostly lightweight and pleasant, perfect summer wines. But Enoteca Bisson’s 2003 “Marea” is much more serious: It grabs your attention with its lush minerality, cool fruit and crisp acidity. Made from a blend of the local grapes Bosco, Vermentino and Albarola, the Marea is left to age on the lees, giving a complex, fascinating wine that tastes of the sea and the sun.

It’s beautiful with seafood, especially raw and steamed shellfish, Dungeness crab and grilled fish.

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Quick swirl

Region: Liguria, Italy

Price: About $26

Style: Crisp and minerally

Food it goes with: Raw and steamed shellfish, Dungeness crab, spiny lobster and grilled fish

Where you find it: Silverlake Wine in Los Angeles, (323) 662-9024; Wine Exchange in Orange, (714) 974-1454 and (800) 76WINEX; and Wine House in Los Angeles, (310) 479-3731

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-- S. Irene Virbila