An excellent, and arguably less bland alternative to the omnipresent Pinot Grigio, Verdicchio can have a fine lick of lemon-lime acidity balancing good fruit weight on the palate. The best examples tend to come from Italy's Marche, and a few from the Veneto region. This is great 'alternative dry white' with which to break the monotony. Try it with a plate of real, fresh pasta like spaghetti Aglio e Olio.
This is very good value for money. A Piedmont red under $30! It has good dark fruit, some nice tannins and acid to balance although it would benefit from some more age to smooth it a bit but I liked its feistiness now.
I was happily surprised by the quality of the labels in the "mystery" case of rose wines - great value for the money I must say. Excellent drinking experience from the unfamiliar labels and happy to enjoy again the familiar ones.