EVERY OENOPHILE I know remembers the first wine he or she loved; and yet none of them still loves that same wine today. As wine drinkers gain knowledge and experience, the world of wine invariably widens and that first object of affection is almost always forgotten—relegated to the status of a fond memory. That was the story of Gavi and me.

I had my first taste of Gavi more than 25 years ago, when I was new to wine, and the white wine of Italy’s Piedmont region was at the peak of its fame. Gavi offered a more stylish alternative...