Cantine Olivella, Catalanesca del Monte Somma “Katà”

The greatest thing about Italian wine is that once you think you’ve seen it all, someone like Andrea Cozzolino comes along and shows you something new—well, new to you, anyway, not to the world. In Cozzolino’s case, it’s an obscure white grape variety called Catalanesca, which has been grown on the sandy, mineral-rich slopes of Mount Vesuvius since at least the 15th century, when it was thought to have arrived in the area from Spain. The electrifying, mineral-drenched wines Cozzolino crafts at his Cantine Olivella are relatively “new” expressions of a historic terroir, and what’s most important to note here is that they are very good, very clean, very substantial wines that are priced fairly—the curiosity factor is hardly the only reason to buy them. Yes, this is a must-have for any Italian wine aficionado, but really anyone who’s serious about white wine in general should be clamoring for a taste. The simplest way to introduce Cantine Olivella’s Catalanesca—“Katà” for short—is to say