The first thing that comes to mind when you hear “Pecorino” is likely “Romano” . But the name of everyone’s favorite piquant-to-the-core cheese is shared with another Italian comestible: a crisp, aromatic white wine.

Once you get to know it — and you’ll want to get to know it — Pecorino will find its place in your heart alongside big-name white wines like Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. It’s the kind of grape that can be approachably youthful or age-worthy and complex.

One likely origin of the name comes from something called the “transumanza,” or the route Abruzzo shepherds would take their sheep every September into the 1950s, going from the mountains of Abruzzo south to Puglia. Since Pecorino grapes ripen early, they would have been available for traveling sheep to munch on during the transumanza. And since “pecora” means “sheep,” the grape could be named after the hungry creatures that made a snack of them. (Although that legend goes further, suggesting the shepherds would actually compensate vineyard owners for lost grapes during the transumanza with wedges of Pecorino cheese. Not a bad trade.)

"Nectarine, ripe pear and lightly citrus scents in combination with mineral notes of peat and flint, refined nuances of aromatic herbed and complex, it shows blueberry, black licorice and fresh violet flowers". Organic. A delight.