Vermentino is a versatile grape with an ancient popularity throughout the Mediterranean that has been steadily gaining popularity here in the Mediterranean climate of California. Also known as Rolle in Southern France, Pigato along the Ligurian Coast of Italy and Favorita in Piedmont, Italy, Vermentino is well suited to warm and dry conditions such as those in Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma. Filomena Wine Company is helmed by a husband and wife team, Luke and Kathleen Nio, who met at UC Davis where Luke studied enology and Kathleen studied nutrition. The first vintage was in 2014 while Luke worked as a cellar master at Bedrock Winery and, more recently, when he became assistant winemaker at the famed Red & Green Vineyard. Filomena is a family name coming from both his grandmother and his great-grandmother, and the winery is a tribute to the women who raised him. (The label picture is from his family’s photo album and is dated 1926.) The Unti Vineyard is farmed organically and biodynamically and the hand-picked grapes, native yeast fermentation, and stainless steel and neutral barrel aging on the lees show a depth of flavors: pear, yellow apple, honeydew, coconut cream, petrichor, jicama, beeswax, saline. The food pairing possibilities are wide, but include turkey burgers, roast veggies and farro and sole in lemon butter sauce.