Arneis, the indigenous white wine varietal of Piedmont, is, along with Moscato, my favorite white from this region. Giacosa produces the finest Arneis I have ever tasted, and his 1996 is a good as any he has made in the past. I recently had several bottles at an excellent new Seattle restaurant called Theoz, and I marveled at how well this wine worked with cuisine that was an innovative blend of Indonesian and Central American cooking. This crisp, dry, elegant 1996 Arneis exhibits a terrific Viognier/Muscat-like fragrance, gorgeous ripe fruit, light to medium body, and super purity. Remarkably, Giacosa produces about 12,000 cases of Arneis, which is bottled early to preserve its freshness. One of the most refreshing dry white wines made in Italy or elsewhere, it requires consumption within 1-2 years of the vintage. A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620