Dolcetto’s name may sound sweet, but it’s a dry food wine. Cortese here is not a grape, but a name. The 2018 Giuseppe Cortese Langhe Dolcettto had a perfect 12.5% alcohol, filled your nose with cherry pit, red raspberry and summer floral notes while scoring 15+ points on the Dionysian internationally acclaimed scale. It cost under $18. It’s meant to drink young and will be even better in three years.

It’s one of the Leonardo Locascio Selections sold by Winebow. It was served with grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup on a recent rainy evening. Perfect.

Dolcetto has a beautiful fruity nose and has good acid balance. It is medium weight and this one had a pleasant aftertaste enhanced by the soup. Get some for the winter. In Vino Veritas.