Panevino
For as straightforward as the name Panevino is—meaning bread and wine in Italian—Gianfranco Manca’s unique elixirs and philosophies on life are anything but. Based in his hometown of Nurri on the island of Sardinia, Gianfranco believes that he himself is just as important as the terroir that his grapes are grown on, that his state of mind and being is of no less consequence to the quality of the wines than the weather in any given year or any soil type or microclimate. One could say that this is true of any real artist; that the magic of what makes a bottle of wine or a piece of art special are the intangible exchanges between person, locale, material, and the unknown dimensions holding all of these things together. I personally find a sense of universality in all of the wines that speak to me on a high level; as if person, terroir, and place are just springboards for something bigger, something imperceptible and untouchable—truth, god, or whatever you want to call it, and this is exactly what the Panevino wines channel for me. To drink a sun-kissed 15% weightless Sardinian Cannonau (the local Grenache) and to feel exalted and lifted from it is magic, and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Alchemy exists in this world and Gianfranco Manca is one of the masters of the form when it comes to grapes.
I’ve recently pulled a couple of Panevino gems from the cellar. Browse here.
Also in is a small collection of very beautiful wines from Benoit Kilian’s Côtelette domaine in northern Burgundy—all single varietal expressions of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Gamay, respectively. Browse here.
Please feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions, and I want to reemphasize custom subscriptions for those who follow Canta but haven’t yet made the leap into being customers—it’s an easy way to get started if any of the wines or decisions about which direction to go seem intimidating.
Happy new year and thanks for reading!
Much love,
Brian