Salt, Stone & Citrus: Discover Punta Crena’s Pigato
Having taken you to Sicily earlier this week, we are detouring to the Ligurian Coast for another stunning Italian white. The classic estate, Punta Crena, produces a single vineyard Pigato from Vigneto Ca Da Rena. As a cousin of Vermentino, the wine shows great minerality and richness with a beautiful saline minerality that speaks to the ocean’s breezes.
The Ruffino family has farmed vines in the village of Varigotti for over 500 years. Ask Paolo Ruffino if the vineyard is organic and he’ll scoff, not out of dismissal, but with a smile that says: of course — and always has been. The vines are worked the same way they’ve been for generations, without certification or pretense. Just respect for the land and the traditions passed down through time.
Their Pigato is grown on steep terraces overlooking the Mediterranean. These salt-licked slopes and the region’s singular microclimate create a white wine that’s vivid, aromatic, and full of soul. The 2023 Ca’ da Rena opens with scents of citrus zest, white peach, and green apple, woven with wild herbs like thyme and basil. There’s a lift of floral perfume and the unmistakable whisper of sea breeze. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and textural, combining mouthwatering acidity with stone fruit, citrus, and a crushed seashell minerality that lingers on a briny, refreshing finish.
This is the kind of wine that seems made for a table overlooking the sea, though it shines just as brightly wherever you are. A true Ligurian original, made the way it’s always been.
