Cephalonia is an Ionian Island off the Western coast of mainland Greece. (Apparently, both a K or an S sound for the first syllable are correct pronunciations.) The Gentilini family is of Italian origin, which is not especially surprising given that the Venetians controlled Cephalonia until the mid-1800s. The high altitude limestone and gravelly soils of the region give grapes with naturally high acidity and, we mean, this is “prickling” acidity which is so strong that it is hard to discern from slight effervescence and which makes it a great food wine. This is also one of the most mineral wines in the world--if you’ve ever swooned over a Sancerre or Chablis it was probably because of its minerality. Robola is the indigenous grape of the island, and is unrelated to Ribolla Gialla. There are equal parts wild and inoculated fermentation. Aging of the wine takes place in 20% American and French oak which is of unspecified age but tastes like older, neutral barrels that give more weight to the mouthfeel without any oaky or toasty notes. This is a wine to go with oysters, shellfish, sushi or crudo. This wine will age gracefully and acquire Riesling-like petrol notes as it ages.