This wine is a short and happy story of supply and demand. Podere Ruggeri is a relatively recent addition to the Langhe landscape, purchased by Loredana Addari and Nicola Argamante in 1994. At the beginning they made only red wines: Barolo, Barbera d’Alba, and Dolcetto d’Alba. One day, their Portland distribution company Casa Bruno requested that they make a little bit of Rosato for the Oregon market, something that had never occurred to them in the deeply red-centric world of the Langhe. The first editions of this wine were experimental. Blends of Nebbiolo with Barbera and Dolcetto, bottled in dark green glass, and a deep shade of light red. Over the years, Loredana and Nicola hae become more comfortable with the concept, and the wine has settled into its current form, a crunchy fresh Nebbiolo as pale as a partridge’s eye with arresting aromas of yellow raspberry, white strawberry and gooseberry, with limestone dust, rosemary and white pepper. The palate is supple and fresh, with fresh red berries and lime zest landing with a clean and crisp finish. This is a wine quite literally designed for late summer picnics in Portland, though the family has started to sell it to other markets too.