Ad Lunam — to the moon. It is an ambitious name for a wine, and Magda Pedrini’s Gavi di Gavi earns every syllable of it. Gavi is one of Piedmont’s most celebrated white wine appellations — a hilltop town in the south-eastern corner of the region where the Cortese grape produces whites of a quite distinctive elegance and refinement that have made the name synonymous with the finest Italian white wine. And Gavi di Gavi — the DOCG designation reserved for wines made exclusively from grapes grown within the town of Gavi itself — is the appellation at its most pure and concentrated, a wine of genuine provenance and character that goes far beyond the broader Gavi DOC. Magda Pedrini is a passionate and dedicated producer, bringing a meticulous attention to quality and a deep respect for the Cortese grape to every vintage. The Ad Lunam is her finest expression of the variety: fresh fruit and delicate herbaceous aromas on the nose, with a lovely hint of white flowers that gives the wine an almost ethereal elegance. On the palate it is round, full-bodied, and beautifully balanced — richer and more textured than many expect from an Italian white — with a persistent, lingering finish that speaks directly of the quality of the fruit and the exceptional terroir of the Gavi di Gavi zone. The kind of Italian white that changes minds and opens eyes. At £19.49, it is Piedmont’s finest white grape at its most accomplished.