Provenza Tenuta Maiolo Lugana Bianco, Lombardia 2010

Santa Barbara’s Olio e Limone restaurant is a favorite place to hit when I’m anywhere near the downtown area.  The Italian food is great, the service is top-notch, the setting is quiet and the wine list is loaded with some fantastic choices.

It was just a short stop on a trip home from Los Olivos when I tried an Italian wine from Lugana.

Lugana is a white wine area in Italy’s Lombardy region.  In the northwest part of the country, Lombardy is landlocked, but has the benefit of a number of lakes to offer a cooling effect in the vineyards.  Lugana, in fact, is located at the south end of Lake Garda, where the clay soil is loaded with minerals.

All the wine made in Lugana is white, and 90% of it must be made from the Trebbiano di Lugana grape.  This may be a variant of Trebbiano, or a completely different grape - there seems to be some confusion on the topic.  It makes a fairly full-bodied wine which is said to age quite well in the cellar.

The Lugana I had was a 2010 wine from Tenuta Maiolo, an $11 offering by the glass.  It shows color beautifully, has a nose dominated by salinity and minerals and tastes of lemon curd and rind.  That lemon peel flavor lasts into the finish.  The acidity is fantastic.  It should pair well with any types of seafood, but I had mine with bread, oil and olives and it was a winner in that simple setting.