The other evening, I was preparing a batch of pasta with clam sauce and pondering what to drink with it. --- Then, I remembered that I had a bottle of Italian wine in my wine cooler that I hadn't tried yet: Mazzoni Bianco di Toscana 2011 ($20). Bingo! It turned out to be a very, very good match for the pasta.

For some 35 years, Italy's Terlato and Francheschi families have partnered to make excellent Tuscan wines under the Mazzoni label. This particular white wine -- Bianco di Toscana 2011 -- is an unoaked blend of hand-harvested grapes: 75% Vermentino and 25% Chardonnay.

I really love this wine. It's got aromas of crisp, ripe pears and green apples, with the bright fruit flavors that you expect from Vermentino. The Chardonnay adds body, depth and acidity that makes Mazzoni Bianco di Toscana a really great partner for seafood dishes, like my orecchiette with clams.

Mazzoni Bianco di Toscana really is a super Tuscan!