Most of those deals have come from our California backyard. Today, we get to present the 2022 Fiore, a $15 Italian Sauvignon Blanc of such quality that the celebrated producer behind it required that we not mention them by name.

The winery is a local legend in the Friuli Colli Orientali DOC, which produces some of the greatest and priciest Sauvignon Blanc in all of Europetop bottles can cross the $150 mark, and go for double that at restaurants.

Getting a bottle of this quality from this appellation at this price instantly puts this deal among our greatest white-wine bargains.

Fiore is estate-grown and biodynamically farmed, with the unique combination of brilliantly pure fruit and rich mouthfeel that has put this winery in MICHELIN-starred wine lists across the globe. Lovers of Sancerrenot to mention the throngs of Wine Access members who have been turned onto the joys of Friulian Sauvignonshould be packing this into their cellars by the pallet.

Sitting at a corner table of the rustically quirky restaurant outside Cormons, with its signature ceramic mannequins on the table, our friend Alex tried his best to keep his voice to a whisper as he pitched the idea.

What if we could score a wine from a legendary producerone featured heavily on the list at Subida, which boasts the greatest collection of Friulian wines in the worldand put it in the glasses of Wine Access members for a pittance?

Alex is behind some of our most-beloved Italian white wines. He was born and raised in Friuli, but found love in California, which is where we met him. He splits his time between the two countries these days, importing wines he loves for American drinkers who otherwise wouldnt have any accessand hes damn good at it. If anyone can pull this off, we figured, its Alex.

As the pasta course arrived, Alex ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, which paired perfectly with tortelli stuffed with fresh cheese and sculpita local herb that reminds us of a cross between tarragon and arugula. We tried to imagine that wine coming in under $20, and it was frankly hard to dountil we finally got samples of the final product for our wine team a few weeks ago.

Alex had delivered on his promiseand then some. After several members of the staff claimed cases, we have barely over 100 cases availablenot a lot for a wine thats going to be ordered by the box. Dont wait.