Cantina Terlano, Alto Adige (Italy) Pinot Bianco 2022

 This newest release of one of my favorite wines is just hitting store shelves, so I’m also reviewing the more widely available 2021.  The two are equally delicious in their different ways.  This is the zestier of the two, with a freshness that makes it seem almost “crackly” on the palate, whereas the 2021 is broader and creamier in the impression it conveys.  As Cantina Terlano is among Italy’s best and most consistent wine producers, I hesitate to even mention that it is a cooperative, as that will make as many readers wonder about its caliber as those who will be especially impressed.  I, for one, am hugely impressed.  As my WRO colleague Wayne Belding MS has noted many times, Pinot Bianco is badly underestimated.  Too many are bland or juked up with oak to “Chardonnize” them, but fine examples from Alto Adige, Collio, Slovenia, southern Austria and Germany are truly marvelous.  Alsace has slipped below all these other sources, though its renditions were by far the most famous not long ago.  One last point worth noting is that excellent Pinot Bianco / Pinot Blanc is phenomenally versatile at the table, deserving your close attention if you…eat.  You do eat, right?