Celia Erickson and Will Schragis met in graduate school and went on to spend a decade each in the wine and spirits industry—Celia as a sommelier, Will as a brand manager and cellar consultant. They’ve always enjoyed working together, despite having little in common—except for one thing: a deep love for Ligurian Vermentino, and a long-standing dream to bottle their own.

In 2024, they tasted nearly every Ligurian Vermentino at Vinitaly before falling for a single bottle poured at the consortium’s table. The next day, they met its winemaker: Ludovico Berta—or Ludo, as he’s now known. His family estate, Fontanacota, is tiny, and could only spare a few hundred bottles a year for export. The connection was right—but the volume wasn’t.

That’s when Nicolas Risso and Cantine San Steva entered the picture. Childhood friends, Ludo and Nicolas grew up together—Ludo’s mother even taught Nicolas in school. Nicolas’s family had recently expanded into a new estate perched above the Mediterranean, with vineyards Ludo knew intimately.

The original plan was to bring Ludo in to make Youthful Porpoise at San Steva. But soon after, San Steva hired him full-time—because he was just that good. Now, all three teams work together to produce a wine that’s bright, generous, and unmistakably Ligurian.

Youthful Porpoise is a playful pipe dream made real—a wine built like a focused spirits release: one vision, one story, one unmistakable bottle. Easy to understand. Even easier to love.