The International Wine ReviewJune/July 2013

Report #37: The Wines of Sicily

In this Issue

A Brief Wine History .............................................. 3Geography ........................................................... 4Improvements in Viticulture and Winemaking ............ 7 The Vineyard .................................................. 7 The Winery .................................................... 9The Grapes and Wines ........................................ 10Sicilian Food and Wine Pairing ............................. 12The Market for Sicilian Wine ................................. 14Tasting Notes and Ratings ..................................... 16

Introduction Sicily is one of the most exciting wine regions in Italy. In recent decades, Sicil-ian wines have greatly improved in quality. While Sicily is renown for its outstand-ing dessert wines

such as the world-famous Marsala, today there are a growing number of wineries throughout Sicily, large and small, producing world class premium wines from unique indigenous varieties like Nero d’Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Frapatto, Grillo, Caricante, and others.

In our previous 2007 report The Wines of Southern Italy: from Quantity to Quality, we noted that most of southern Italy including Sicily had a long history of wine production focused on quantity. Instead of producing wines of qual-ity for the international market, the south of Italy became a producer of cheap bulk wine, and Sicily was the leading producer. Indeed, the structure of the wine industry in Sic-ily was built on the production of cheap wine by coopera-tives, which in turn stifled private investment and innova-tion in the wine industry. While Sicily’s cooperatives and private companies continue producing a vast quantity of innocuous wine, there are today many outstanding family and commercial wineries producing world class wines that deserve the attention of the trade and serious wine consumers. These wines are the focus of this report.

In this report we provide a brief history of Sicily’s wine industry and identify its major wine growing regions and their different soils and climate. We then identify the improvements which have taken place in the vineyards and the wineries throughout the island that help explain the emergence of Sicily as a producer of premium wine. A unique characteristic of Sicilian wine is its indigenous grapes, so we focus the next section on the different variet-

ies and styles of wines being produced and identify the best producers. We also take a close look at the special cuisine of Sicily and make recommendations on the pairing of Sicilian wines and food. Lastly, we examine the global market for Sicilian wines and recommend measures for promotion of Sicilian wines in the United States. In the final section we provide tasting notes and ratings on more than 200 wines tasted for this report. Some of the artisanal wines we review are produced in small quantities and are difficult to find outside Sicily, but the persistent consumer who seeks out these wines will be amply rewarded.

The current market for Sicilian wines in the US should grow in the coming years. The quality of the wines is excellent and the prices are competitive for most wines. The big challenge for the Sicilian wine industry and its importers is to educate the public about the quality and uniqueness of Sicilian wines. This is one of the missions of Assovini Sicilia, the trade organization which represents most of the quality wine producers of Sicily in international markets.

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Acknowledgements. The preparation of this report was made possible by the generous support and collaboration of Assovini Sicilia and its member wineries. We are especially appreciative of the encouragement and support given to us by Antonio Rallo and Alessio Planeta. We also want to thank Giuseppe Longo, Assovini’s Director, for his outstanding assistance in organizing our visit to Sicily. We were warmly welcomed by all of the wineries we visited and were extended special hospitality by the following: Caruso & Minini, Donnafugata, Planeta, Tasca d’Almerita, COS, Valle dell’Acate, Zisola, Setteporte and Tenuta delle Terre Nere. We also appreciate the wine samples and information provided by the many US importers of Sicilian wines. We also owe a great deal of gratitude to Bill Nesto MW and Frances di Savino for their superb book, The World of Sicilian Wine, which was published just prior to our visit to Sicily. The book is a tour de force on Sicilian wine and was extremely helpful to us during our visit to Sicily and in writing our report. We are most indebted to Bill and Frances. Finally, many thanks to Dana Rubsam Penso, our Italy correspondent, who contacted wineries on our behalf

Mike Potashnik and Don Winkler with Joel Butler, Contributing Editor

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A Brief Wine HistorySicily has a long and colorful wine history beginning with-ancient times. It acquired worldwide renown in the 19th century with the discovery of vino perpetuo by an English merchant, who fortified the wine and marketed it to the world as Marsala. The popularity of Marsala eventually faded, to be replaced the middle of the last century by the production of bulk wine by community cooperatives. But towards the end of the century, quality growers began bot-tling their own wine, following the viticultural and enologi-cal advice of the Sicilian Wine Research Institute (IRVV) and gaining success in export markets1. Today, there’s a renewed emphasis on the indigenous varieties of Sicily ac-companied by continued improvements in growing grapes and making wine.

Ancient TimesThe Greeks and Phoenicians were the first to grow vines and produce wine in Sicily in the 8th century B.C. Ac-cording to Homer Sicily was a wild yet fertile place and that with a little industry it could become a land of plenty. In the centuries that followed, other outsiders (Romans, Muslims, Normans et al) exploited Sicily’s natural wealth but failed to create an indigenous wine culture. Under the Romans, the island became the breadbasket of the Roman Empire, and Sicily’s grapes and wines were prized on the Roman table. The Muslims introduced a variety of new crops on the island beginning in the 9th century and continued the cultivation of wine grapes although not to the same degree as in Greek and Roman times. The Norman kings brought wealth to Sicily and protected its natural resources but contributed little to the development of the island’s wine culture. Indeed, up to the end of the 18th century foreign rulers and the landed nobility which arose with them continued to exploit Sicily’s natural wealth without developing an indigenous culture for wine produc-tion.

The Age of Marsala Sicily’s wine industry began to emerge in the late 18th century with the invention of Marsala by the Englishman, John Woodhouse. Woodhouse land-ed on Sicily’s west coast near the

city of Marsala (see map) in 1770, tasted the local wine called Vino Perpetuo (a wine aged in cask more than 40 years and drawn directly from cask) and realized he could fortify the wine to better withstand shipment and make a less costly version of Madeira since both labor and grapes

were plentiful and cheap. The fact that in 1805 Thomas Jefferson purchased a barrel of Marsala is evidence of Woodhouse’s success in marketing Marsala. In the ensuing years other British entrepreneurs followed Woodhouse and invested in vineyard development, winemaking, and trans-port of still wines in and around the town of Marsala. During the second half of the 19th century, following the unification of Italy under Giuseppe Garibaldi, British influ-ence in the wine industry waned, and more Sicilians entered the Marsala trade, producing wine for local con-sumption and exporting it to France, England, and other countries. Indeed, the wine industry flourished during this period with vineyard plantings reaching their highest point in history—over 321 thousand hectares. The boom, however, did not last; phylloxera hit Italy in 1880 and took a major toll on vineyards and wine production until the middle of the 20th century when wine cooperatives came on the scene and transformed Sicily into a major bulk wine producer.

The Rise of the Cooperatives During the second half of the 20th century, cooperative wineries became the major producers of wine in Sicily. These cooperatives produced grape juice (must) and wine in bulk from grapes purchased from their members—small farmers. Responding to the growth in demand for cheap wine in Europe and aided by favorable EU trade policies, Sicily rapidly became a major producer of bulk wine and its cooperative wineries expanded rapidly. The wine boom of this period also enabled cooperatives to provide essential income to small Sicilian farmers, especially those in the West who had been hard hit with the down turn of the Marsala industry in the 1960s. From 1970 the number of cooperative wineries in Sicily increased from 73 to 197 by 1980. As of 1987, 78 percent of Sicilian wine was pro-duced by cooperatives, and 97 percent of that was sold in bulk. One cooperative—Settesoli—located in Menfi on Sicily’s southwestern coast was exceptional. Formed in 1958, it started bottling wine in the mid-1970s under the leadership of Diego Planeta and today is highly successful exporting good quality value wines.

1In 2011 the IRVV was replaced by the IRVOS (Istituto Regionale Vini e Oli di Sicilia) to promote Sicilian olive oil in addition to wine.

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The Palmento: Traditional Winemaking Prior to the introduction of modern enology, winemaking in Sicily took place in palmentos. A precursor to today’s wineries, the palmento was a building constructed of

stone where freshly harvested grapes were crushed and where the juice underwent alcoholic fermentation. The walls of the palmento were very thick, to buffer rapid temperature changes. Palmentos were frequently built to make use of gravity—the reception area was elevated, and subsequent processes occurred at lower elevations. Typically, harvesters dumped grape bunch-es into shallow stone basins where a team of crushers trod the grapes, the juice of which then flowed through stone gutters to stone tanks where it fermented and then to another level where it was transferred to large chestnut or oak barrels, like the chestnut barrels that we saw in the old palmento preserved at the Barone de Villagrande winery on Mt. Etna (see picture). The introduction of modern winemaking equipment and more hygienic conditions in the cellar have made the traditional palmentos obsolete for winemaking today. Many sit abandoned, surrounded by the vineyards they used to serve. However, they are interesting tourist at-tractions.

The Quality Revolution Beginning in the 1980s a small number of Sicilian wine producers began producing high quality wine that ulti-mately led to today’s quality winemaking revolution. These producers were by no means the first, as a couple of decades earlier, Giuseppe Tasca and his wife took over management of Tasca d’Almerita and began producing wines of quality as did the team at Duca di Salaparuta under the leadership of the brilliant Piedmontese consulting winemaker, Franco Giacosa. Also in 1971, the French-man Hugues Bernard began producing quality wine at the Rapitalà winery at Alessandro di Compareale near Palermo. These early pioneers were followed in the 1980s by Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti and Cirino Strano, the founders of COS winery, by the Rallo family of Donna-fugata, by Salvatore and Vinzia di Gaetano of Firriato, by Marco De Bartoli, who revitalized the making of quality Marsala, by Diego Planeta and others. These were just a few of the producers who, with the help of other industry leaders and consultants, would transform Sicily into a qual-ity wine producer in the decades ahead.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, most of the leaders of Sicily’s wine industry looked beyond Sicily for help in developing their industry. In 1985, Diego Planeta, head of the Sette-soli cooperative and the new President of Sicily’s Regional Institute of Vine and Wine (IRRV), funded research to

identify promising international varieties and supported the travel and study of young enologists to become acquainted with developments in other countries. Also during this period, Giacomo Tachis, one of Italy’s finest enologists from Tuscany, and a follower of the famed Emile Peynaud of Bordeaux, became a consultant to the IRRV. For more than a decade Tachis helped give direction to Sicily’s qual-ity revolution, promoting the adoption of Nero d’Avola as Sicily’s red grape, prescribing the growing of international varieties, introducing techniques to improve the quality of Zibibbo (Muscat Alexandria) and Moscato Bianco dessert wines and helping develop barrel fermentation techniques for Chardonnay and indigenous whites.

In recent decades, producers in Sicily have focused their attention on producing high quality wines from their own indigenous varieties. Some of the most notable examples are the group of producers on Mt. Etna in eastern Sic-ily: Marco de Grazia of Tenuta delle Terre Nere, Andrea Franchetti of Passopiscaro, Federico Curtaz of Tenuta di Fessina, Alberto Graci, Barone de Villagrande, and oth-ers who are crafting stunning wines from the indigenous grapes of Nerello Mascalese and Carricante. In Vittoria in southeastern Sicily, the winemakers at COS, Arianna Occhipinti, and at Gaetana Jacono’s Valle delle Acate are producing exciting Cerasuolo di Vittoria, and Frappato. Indeed, in virtually every growing area of Sicily there has been exciting progress in the quality of Sicilian wine.

GeographySicily is a geographically diverse wine growing region with unique soils born from underwater volcanoes, strong winds that attack from the south and the north, and sites suitable for growing grapes on the coastal plains, the hilly interior, and the mountains and volcanoes of the island. In this section we examine this terroir and how it varies across the major growing regions of the island.

The IslandThe largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily also has the tallest (3320 m), active volcano (Mt. Etna) in Europe. Shaped like a triangle, the island’s apex is Marsala on the west, and its base lies to the east, running from Messina in the north to Siracusa and Noto in the south with Sicily’s second largest city, Catania, located in between. The northern side of this triangle is mountainous (the Peloritanis) as is its southeast corner (the Hyblaeans), while the south-ern and western coasts are home to seaside plains that rise to the hills that dominate the island. Less than 15 percent of the land is classified as littoral plains.

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Excluding the northern mountains, Sicily was born under water, the product of underwater volcanoes (like the active volcano Ferdinandea located 6m under water just west of Agrigento) and the violent clash of continents as the Afri-can plate slid under the Eurasian plate pushing Sicily out of the sea. As a result, much of the island’s soil is calcare-ous in nature, with limestone especially prominent in the southeast. The absorptive capacity of the soils helps vines survive the long, arid summer. Both active volcanoes like Mt Etna and dormant ones like Monti Iblei in the southeast have contributed rich basalt to the soils2.

2For a detailed analysis of Sicilian soils, consult Venturella, Giuseppe. “Climatic and Pedological Features of Sicily.” BOCCONEA (2004).

The ClimateSicily lies in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its climate is warm with rainfall concentrated in the winter months. Average rainfall is about 600 mm but varies con-siderably, as shown in the map. Milo on Mt. Etna receives about double the average for the island; rainfall is also higher than average in the mountains south of Palermo. As with many parts of the Mediterranean, rainfall in Sicily has declined in recent decades3. Average temperatures and diurnal variations also vary by altitude and proximity to the sea, which serves as a moderating influence, warming in the winter and cooling in the summer. Diurnal temperature variations are greatest in the interior at high elevations like the Regaleali estate near Sambuca located northeast of Agrigento.

Strong winds from every direction buffet the island the year round. The hot, dust-laden scirocco that comes out of the Sahara can reach speeds as high as 100 km/h and snap green shoots in the spring and dry out grapes in the autumn. It’s especially persistent and severe on the island of Pantelleria.

3Arnone, E. et.al. (2013) Rainfall statistics changes in Sicily, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., pp 2323-2352.

The plains, hills, and mountains and their different expo-sures create numerous, distinct areas for growing vines. For purposes of exposition, we simplify and divide Sicily into five principal regions—the West, the Center, the Northeast, the Southeast, and the Islands.

The West

The West is mostly comprised of the province of Trapani (one of nine in Sicily) and includes two major urban areas, Marsala and Trapani. As with other coastal areas, soils near the sea include the mineral salts of ancient lagoons. Many of the soils, both along the coast and on the hills fur-ther inland, are calcareous red clay.The Grillo grape does especially well in the hot, dry coastal climate, while Catar-ratto, the most widely planted variety, is mainly grown on the inland hills, which rise as high as 600 m. The Trapani area grows 58 percent of all wine grapes in Sicily and an astounding 70 percent of all white wine grapes. Some of Sicily’s most prestigious producers have vineyards in the West, including Caruso & Minini, Firriato and De Bartoli.

The Center

This includes a large area covering the land between the Tyrrhenian Sea on the north to the Mediterranean on the south and extending from the Belice River on the west as far east as the Salso River. It corresponds approximately to the provinces of Palermo, Agrigento, Caltanissetta, and Enna and has 36 percent of Sicily’s grape vines. The major wine producing areas are the highlands south of the seaside city of Palermo, the plains and hills near the south-ern coast called the Terre Sicane, and the highlands in the very center of the island.

Palermo. Much of the Palermo area is hilly with medium-high altitude (400+ m) vineyards of calcareous clay soils and a benign climate, including moderate average rain-fall (600 mm). Both indigenous (Catarratto, Inzolia) and international varieties are grown. Wineries with vineyards

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continuing eruptions of ash and pumice and periodic lava flows, the most recent large one occurring in 1991-1993. The soils are, of course, basaltic but of widely varying tex-tures, from fine sand to basalt rocks the size of potatoes. Since Mt. Etna is active, falling ash and lapilli (small, light volcanic pebbles) are not uncommon, especially towards the east and southeast, due to prevailing winds, and con-tribute to soil fertility. The soils are loose and well-aerated, allowing the roots of vines to easily penetrate the basaltic substrata in search of water in the dry-farmed vineyards.

The terroir of Etna varies greatly depending on altitude and vineyard location, with higher rainfall, cooler tempera-tures, greater diurnal variation, and more basaltic soils the higher the altitude. Below 400m the soils tend to be sandy clay of alluvial and basaltic origins, and the slopes are gentle enough to permit modern, wire-trained vines. Wide-ly differing mixes of basaltic rocks and sand predominate at altitudes between 400 and 900m (essentially, between two parallel roads, the Quota 600 and the Quota Mille, where Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, and other indigenous red grapes grown alberello (individually staked bush vines) style, often on terraced vineyards. White grapes, mostly Carricante, grown best above 900 m, the altitude helping preserve the grape’s natural acidity. Red varieties dominate Mt. Etna, representing over 90 percent of all vines planted, but the white variety Carricante is pre-dominant on the southeastern slope, especially in Milo.

Rainfall varies not only by altitude but, also, by location on Mt. Etna. Precipitation is greatest (1200 mm, annually) on the eastern and southeastern slopes, which receive a direct hit from winter storms coming in off the sea. The northern slopes receive less direct rainfall but benefit from runoff from the summit that is absorbed by the volcanic substrata.

Numerous wineries are producing high quality wines from Etna. Some of the better known are Barone di Villagrande,

Mt. Etna DOC

in the Palermo highlands include Duca di Salaparuta and Rapitalá.

Terre Sicane. The Terre Sicane is arid and hot and fre-quently buffeted by the African scirocco. The soils are typically sedimentary and calcareous, and the vineyards are typically planted at 250-500 meters altitude. White grape varieties (Inzolia, Catarratto, Chardonnay, Viognier) dominate, but French red varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sau-vignon, Syrah) have also gained in popularity. Important, large wineries in the Terre Sicane include Donnafugata, Planeta, and Settesoli.

Central Highlands. In the very center of Sicily, one finds vineyards planted on mountainous hillsides at high altitudes (up to 900m). While days during the growing season can be hot, especially when the scirocco blows, temperatures plummet at night, resulting in large diurnal temperature variations. Like most the rest of Sicily, even these highlands were at one time under the sea, reflected in the calcium carbonate content of the sandy and clay soils. Arguably the most important producer here is Tasca d’Almerita with over 400 ha of vineyards near Vallelunga. Catarratto, Nero d’Avola, Perricone, and Cabernet Sauvignon are among the varieties grown in the central highlands. The Southeast

This historic area lies between the Salso River on the west and the Ionian Sea on the east and includes important urban centers like Vittoria, Ragusa, Noto, and Siracusa. It is where Franco Giacosa discovered Nero d’Avola, and where several growers, including the Zonin-owned Principi di Butera, have planted that variety near Butera. Aside from Butera, the most important wine growing regions are around the city of Vittoria and south of Noto. The South-east has only about 4 percent of all Sicilian vineyards.

Vittoria. Vittoria is coastal plain of sandy, sedimentary soils, often with a calcareous hardpan, and a hot, dry climate. It is the home of the delicate Frappato grape and the Cerasuolo di Vittoria blend of Frappato and Nero d’Avola. Important wineries include COS, Occhipinti, and Valle dell’Acate.

Noto. While Vittoria is near the southern shore and the Mediterranean, Noto is nearer the eastern shore and the Ionian Sea. Here the highly calcareous, clay soils can be almost white, which reflects the heat and helps keep soils cool. As the hottest part of Sicily, fruit can get very ripe, as we found in our tastings there. Moscato Bianco and Nero d’Avola are two important varieties grown here. Well known wineries include Feudo Maccari and Zisola.

The Northeast

Quantitatively, the Northeast is Sicily’s least important wine region. However, it compensates for its lack of size by pro-ducing some of Sicily’s most exciting wines. While grapes are grown on the coastal plain bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north, the main growing area in the northeast is Mt. Etna, especially its northern and eastern sides. Mt. Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world with

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Cornelissen, Graci, Passopisciaro (Andrea Franchetti’s estate), and Terre Nere (Marc de Grazia’s estate).

The Islands

Sicily has numer-ous offshore islands. In terms of wine produc-tion, the most important is the largest island, Pantelleria, which lies direct-ly east of Tunis and just 60 km from the Tunisian coast. With vol-canic soils, high summer tempera-

tures, almost no ground water, scant precipitation and in the direct path of the fierce scirocco winds, the island is famous for its Passito di Pantelleria, made from the Zibibbo grape. Most vineyards are located near the sea, which helps moderate the summer heat and provides essential humidity. Vines are head trained (alberello pantesca—see photo) and planted close to the ground in depressions for protection from the wind.

Closer to Sicily and just 15 km from the Trapani coast near Marsala lie the Egadi Islands, including the largest and most important, Favignana, where Firriato has an experi-mental vineyard located just meters from the sea.

The Eolian (Lipari) Islands are a volcanic archipelago that lies at the opposite end of Sicily just off its northeastern shore. Commercial vineyards can be found on the largest island, Lipari, as well as on Salina. The islands receive moderate rainfall and have sandy, volcanic soils. The principal grape variety is Malvasia di Lipari which has tra-ditionally been used to make sweet, passito wines. Tasca d’Almerita has a 5 ha vineyard on Salina for making a passito style Malvasia. Carlo Hauner and Colosi also are important producers of this wine.

Improvements in Viticulture and Winemaking “Sicily has a heavy responsibility to European viticultural history, that of maintaining the sensitivity to history which is inherent in the island’s traditions, of keeping alive the relationship between the universality of myth and local traditions, where the tangible signs of symbols are found in those ancient grapes and in those places where they come alive again.” These words by noted Viticultural Professor Attilio Scienza, from the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige, echoed in our minds as we travelled around the island and inspected the diversity of vineyards. From ancient times until quite recently, Sicily was noted for

the quality of its wines, unique varieties and a variety of terroirs, reflecting its strikingly diverse climate and topogra-phy.

There is evidence that Sicily’s producers are paying heed to Professor Scienza’s comments. The quality of Sicilian wine has improved immensely over the past two decades, resulting from numerous changes in the vineyard and the winery. These changes have had diverse sources—research and experiments carried out by the IRVV, the Università di Milano, Università di Palermo, and forward thinking growers and wineries; advice from world-famous Italian enologists; EU regulations and subsidies; and the in-centives provided by higher prices and the critical acclaim and recognition of Sicily’s best wines by the wine trade and consumers.

The VineyardThe Sicilian vineyard has undergone numerous changes in recent years—better plant material, different planting prac-tices, new vineyard sites, and improved vineyard manage-ment, including increased use of sustainable and organic practices.

Improved Indigenous Clones

Increasing research into grape improvement via clonal se-lection and identification of old, indigenous vines of quality has grown strongly in the last 10 years. Since 2003, the Regional Agricultural Assessor for Sicily has carried out a large-scale project aimed at genetic improvement of the island’s ampelographic foundations, in collaboration with the Universities of Palermo and Milan, along with Rome’s CRA-PAV (Centro di Ricerca per la Patologia Vegetale). From this research has come the first organized clonal selections of key varieties like Frappato, Inzolia and Nero d’Avola, along with the identification of over 50 indigenous varieties, many previously unknown. These discoveries have led producers to replant better vine material accord-ing to site. Simultaneously, producers like Marco Nicolosi of Barone di Villagrande continue to replant their vineyards from a careful selection of cuttings from their own vines, thus preserving genetic diversity.

At Donnafugata this desire to increase diversity and quality led to their planting 33 biotypes of Muscat from all over at their large vineyard on Pantelleria, famous for its ancient sun-dried Zibibbo (Muscat Blanc). In a joint effort with Giuseppe Tasca at Regaleali, both properties have planted some of the 50 nearly extinct varieties noted above in order to further Sicily’s stature for quality wine and protect a precious cultural heritage.

Better Vineyards Growers are searching out better locations for vineyards, partly in response to global warming, partly the result of changes in consumer preferences, and partly to simply get better fruit. Increased temperatures as well as the modern preference for delicate and crisp white wines has encour-aged producers to plant at higher elevations, above 600

A Zibibbo Vine on Pantelleria

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meters. The de-mand for fresh white wines as opposed to the old, oxidized style typical of the Marsala and Alcamo area propelled Cusamano to plant their Piano degli Albanesi vineyard near

Ficuzzi at 700 meters. Likewise, most people consider the best Etna white wines to come from around Milo on the volcano’s eastern slopes above 700 meters where there is more rainfall and cooler temperatures (Barone di Villa-grande), or the drier north slopes above 850 meters (Terre Nere, Passopisciaro).

The search for better vineyard sites includes the rediscov-ery of old sites. Etna is perhaps the best example of the resuscitation of historic growing areas, but the practice extends beyond Etna. Planeta has been especially active in developing new vineyards in historic areas like Vittoria, Noto, Mamertino, and, of course, Etna. Old vineyards in Etna and elsewhere are located on what were at one time large wine estates called contradas, and some produc-ers (Terre Nere, Passopisciaro) started several years ago putting the names of the contradas on their wine labels. Marco de Grazia advocated identifying and defining the contradas of Etna, and as a result in 2011 a ministerial decree established 133 of them and legalized putting the contrada’s name on wine labels when the grapes come from a specific one.

Vineyards are also being planted more densely than a de-cade ago in order to limit production per vine while main-taining overall production levels4. The Planeta vineyard in Ulmo has increased density from 3800 to 5000 vines per hectare, while Villagrande’s vineyards are planted 7000 vines/ha. Andrea Franchetti at Passopisciaro on the high slopes of Mt Etna (above 800 m) has recently planted Cesanese and Petit Verdot vines to 12,000/ha, an inordi-nately high density designed to focus these vines to better concentration considering the marginal, cool climate at this elevation.

Improved Vineyard Management For newly planted vineyards, Sicily made the conversion from the traditional alberello (see box) or pergola style training to Guyot and and cordon-spur (cordone spero-nato) training several decades ago. Cottanera on Etna, for example, used to be pergola trained but converted to

Villagrande’s High Density, High Altitude, Massale Planted Vineyard at Milo

Guyot when it replanted to international varieties in the 1990s. Both trellising systems allow for mechanized har-vesting and drip irrigation, and cordon-spur also permits mechanized pruning. The high cost of manual labor in Sicily requires mechanized viticulture in order to produce wine at internationally competitive prices. However, grow-ing numbers of growers are resuscitating old alberello trained vineyards, especially on Mt Etna, and some (e.g., Feudi Maccari, Tasca d’Almerita) are even planting new alberello vineyards. In some cases (e.g., Pantelleria) alber-ello is the only feasible system. The high costs of rebuild-ing terraces (on Etna) and maintaining low-yielding, old alberello vines on tiny plots makes this financially feasible only for high-end wines. Today the distribution of vines by type of training is: alberello (8%), trellised/spalliera (82%), and pergola/tendone (9%).

Alberello. Trans-lated as “little tree”, alberello is the age-old traditional method of vine-grow-ing still widely used in many parts of Sicily. Low-growing, often pruned in a goblet-style, circular form, alberello vines are typically low in vigor, ideally suited to warm areas and rocky, well-drained soils where the leaf canopy shades the clusters from sun-burn, and the porous ground allows deep

root penetration. This allows older vines especially to avoid undue stress as they can take advantage of a deep water level. Older alberello vineyards are espe-cially common where phylloxera cannot survive, like on Mt. Etna due to its sandy, low clay content soils. Yet at properties like Feudi di Maccari near Noto, producers have planted newer vineyards in the traditional manner, citing the benefits above, the less expensive planting costs (no fancy trellising), and the self-limiting vigor achieved as the vine’s roots go deeper.

Cover cropping is increasingly used by some (Planeta, Donnafugata, Regaleali and others) to divert some energy from vines so that they do not grow as vigorously, thus achieving lower sugars and hopefully better alignment of flavour development. By tilling under these grasses and legumes, they also maintain a healthier soil and lower the need for fertilizers.

More recently, producers are returning to more traditional pre-industrial era vineyard management practices of a century ago, when everything was farmed “organically”. Sicily’s overall dry and benign climate, often windy, permits a more hands-off approach to farming that produc-ers find less capital intensive, more consumer-friendly and quality enhancing. At Regaleali, Giuseppe Tasca said his

4Increased planting density is another way that Sicilian growers are returning to the past. As Salvo Foti in La Sicilia del Vino (Maimone, 2005) states (JB transla-tion): “Fifty years ago, the normal vine density in Sicily was about 10,000 vines/ha; today, while there are isolated examples like this, they have become the excep-tion…..new types of trellising have so modified the traditional systems that they have cut to 1/10 the number of vines per hectare.”

Century Old Pre-Phylloxera Nerello Mascalese Alberello Vine in Terre Nere’s

Don Peppino Vineyard in Contrada Calderara Sottana

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father started to reduce chemical treatments beginning in the 1980’s, including sulphur treatments. From four years ago, Tasca no longer uses any copper or sulphur, and is effectively organic. Other growers (Valle dell’Acate, Feudo Maccari) are following organic practices, and a small number of producers (e.g., COS) have converted to biodynamic farming.

The WineryIn the winery, Sicilian producers are crafting wines using modern equipment and new techniques introduced since the 1990s. Most of the old palmentos have been replaced with new facilities, and well-trained enologists and consult-ing winemakers are at the helm in many of the top winer-ies. Some noteworthy improvements in winemaking from the harvest to barrel aging are noted below.

The Harvest

Meticulous vineyard management and steady ripening of grapes enable Sicily’s wineries to harvest healthy grapes by machine and by hand. The top wineries like Donnafugata are pick-ing their grapes for acidity and freshness and harvesting by hand and sorting to remove

debris before fermentation. Because of high daytime temperatures, top producers also harvest at night to better preserve the aromas of the fruit.

Fermentation

The use of controlled cold fermentation and cyromacera-tion in neutral tanks has contributed to white wines with fresher fruit, improved aromatics, stability of taste proper-ties and better overall balance. Carricante, Inzolia, and Grillo have been the main beneficiaries. The use of cold maceration before alcoholic fermentation is also helping produce more concentrated color and softer tannins in Sicilian red wines.

Most Sicilian producers are also now doing relatively shorter and cooler fermentations to avoid overextracting tannins and to retain more fruit. Some, like Marco de Grazia at Terre Nere, have adopted roto-tanks to do fairly quick macerations to gain color and fruit with little seed tannin extraction. Winemakers are also using gentler fermentation techniques to capture the floral, gamey and red fruit character of delicate varieties such as Nerello Mascalese and Frappato. These more controlled methods have contributed to the development of the unique style of wines like Cerasuolo di Vittoria, which exhibits freshness and delicacy in wines from producers like COS, Occhipinti and Valle dell’ Acate. They have also softened the tannins in the “rossos” of Mt. Etna.

Franco Giacosa: Pio-neer of Sicily’s Nero d’Avola. Franco Giaco-sa played a key role in Sic-ily’s quality wine revolution by helping to revive Sicily’s indigenous wine varieties like Nero d’Avola. In 1974, several years after obtaining a diploma at the School of Enology in Alba, Giacosa joined the winemaking team of Duca di Salaparuta where he worked with Italy’s

famed enologist Ezio Rivella. At Duca di Salaparuta he experimented using 120 small vats ( 100 liters) for microvinification. This became essential for comparing and understanding the different varieties, soils and mi-croclimates of Sicily, which up to that time was known exclusively for its wine sold in bulk. In the early 1980s he started production of a red wine using 100% Nero d’Avola, which received world wide accolades. He later incorporated Nero d’Avola into the blend of Duca Enrico, which was Sicily’s first varietal Nero d’Avola. In 1997 Giacosa left Duca di Salaparuta and became Technical Director for Zonin. He encouraged Gianni Zonin to purchase the 310 ha property that later be-came Feudo Principi di Butera. As technical director at Zonin, Giacosa continued work on the development of Italy’s indigenous grape varieties until he retired in 2011.

Maturation

Sicilian producers of quality red wine are using oak bar-rels for maturation, especially small barriques (225L) and slightly larger tonneaux (350-500L). However, many producers are using less new oak than they did even five years ago and are also using only older barrels. Produc-ers like Villagrande and Passopisciaro in Etna are using larger oak (even chestnut, the traditional wood for Etna red wines) vessels from 3 hl to 15 hl for aging their wines.

Producers like Alessio Planeta and Marco de Grazia cite two reasons for dialing down the oak. As vines have ma-tured the wines have greater fruit and structure and don’t need the “crutch” of new oak. Also, the increasing impor-tance attached to the expression of terroir dictates that oak influence be reduced. Perhaps another reason is the deli-cate nature of some of Sicily’s best varieties, like Frappato and Nerello Mascalese, which are easily overwhelmed by too much oak.

Cement vats are also being used for fermentation and for aging lighter red varieties like Frappato. Cement vats were used for aging well before the introduction of French oak, and they offer several advantages. They breathe like oak and diffuse oxygen without adding oak character, and they retain and exchange heat well, so that refrigeration is usually not needed, although glycol tubing can be embed-ded for precision temperature control.

Harvest at Donnafugata

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Experimentation

Creative wine-making and ex-perimentation in the cellar are tak-ing place across Sicily today. Two Sicilian produc-ers are looking backwards to their Roman past. COS is crafting wines fermented and aged in clay amphora jars with indigenous yeasts, kept underground

to moderate heat build-up during maturation and bottled with little or no added sulphur dioxide. However, only modern scientific knowledge and understanding allows this low-tech approach. Franc Cornelissen is using clay amphorae for producing natural wines. He is an extreme naturalist, avoids any treatments of the soil, either organic or biodynamic, and uses amphorae lined with epoxy resin to reduce volatile acidity in his wines.

Amphora Sunk in Gravel at COS

White GrapesGrillo. Grillo was historically the most important variety in quality Marsala. Grown alborello style and harvested late, the grape gives both good acidity and the high levels of alcohol desired in Marsala. However, in recent times it was largely forgotten as growers replaced it with the consistently high yielding Catarratto.

Marco De Bartoli rediscovered the variety in the 1980s, producing a cold-fermented, dry wine that today is widely imitated.

Grillo is grown mostly in the western province of Trapani. It is a spontaneous crossing of two other Sicilian varieties discussed here—Zibibbo and Catarratto. It is frequently blended with the more aromatic Inzolia grape. Today Grillo represents about 6 percent of Sicily’s planted vines.

Grillo table wines are made in several styles. The most frequent is fermented in stainless steel and reveals aromas and flavors not unlike those of Sauvignon Blanc with good acidity and freshness. Good examples of this style are offered by Caruso & Minini, Valle dell’Acate, and Tasca d’Almerita. Grillo is also sometimes aged in oak for up to 12 months. The Duca di Salaparuta makes a good example of this style. And Grillo is also often frequently blended with other grapes, especially the more aromatic Inzolia; Firriato makes an excellent example.

Inzolia. An old native variety, Inzolia (also spelled Insolia) is the third most planted grape in Sicily with 6,800 hect-ares mainly in western Sicily. Inzolia is blended into many other wines and is used with Grillo and Catarratto to produce Marsala. Light straw in color and low in acidity it was historically blended with Catarratto to make white wines. Prior to the onset of powdery mildew (to which it is especially susceptible) in the 19th century, this was the most widely planted grape in Sicily and, also, made up the largest share of the Marsala blend.

Like Grillo, Inzolia is very productive and needs to be planted in low-fertility soils to lower yields and give qual-ity fruit. Inzolia is mildly aromatic and does best in high altitudes, which bring out its spicy floral character and increases its acidity level. Good examples of fresh Inzolia made in stainless steel are offered by Firriato and Caruso & Minini. Cusumano makes an excellent, wood fermented, lees stirred wine. And several producers blend Cattarato with Inzolia, Grecanico, Cattarato, and even Viognier; rec-ommended producers include Cottanera, COS and Caruso & Minini.

Cataratto. This is the most widely planted of all varieties in Sicily (and the second most widely planted in all of Italy),

The Grillo Grape

The Grapes and WinesA large number of both indigenous and international grape varieties are grown in Sicily. However, a relatively small number are important for premium wine production. White grape varieties represent 64 percent of the total, with 36 percent of plantings being red varieties. As shown in the graph, indigenous varieties like Catarratta, Nero d’Avola, and Inzolia are a high percentage of all plantings, with Syrah, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon together representing less than 17 percent of the total. Some of Sicily’s most interesting indigenous varieties—Ner-ello Mascalese, Carricante, Frappato, Zibibbo, and others barely register on a graph of hectares planted.

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representing more than a third of all planted vines. It is a high yielding variety that has been written about since the 17th century, but it came to the fore in the 20th century when it replaced Grillo for the production of Marsala. It accounts for 34% of total plantings in Sicily with 38,000 hectares. It makes subtly flavored wines of moderate al-cohol and high acidity, especially when grown in the hilly interior. As a dry wine, it is frequently blended with Inzo-lia, which contributes both alcohol and fragrance. There are three phenotypes of Catarratto—Comune, Lucido, and Extralucido. Comune is the most widely planted and yields the highest sugar and lowest acidity of the three.

Carricante. Almost all of the Carricante in Sicily (just 146 ha) is found on Mt. Etna. At high altitudes (1000 m) Car-ricante seems to be a sponge for the minerals of Etna, and its wines are invariably described as subtle, chalky and mineral-like with high acidity that gives them long life in bottle. It’s the principal grape in Etna Bianco (at least 60% of the blend) and Etna Bianco Superiore (at least 80% of the blend). Etna Bianco Superiore is only produced in the commune of Milo near Catania. Barone de Villagrane makes an excellent example of this wine.

Carricante is fermented in stainless steel to preserve its aromatic qualities and is usually blended with other variet-ies, although Tenuta di Fessina makes an outstanding, oak-aged, 100 percent Carricante. Firriato and Graci make excellent blends of Carricante and Catarratto, while Planeta blends Carricante with Riesling, and Terre Nere blends it with Inzolia.

Zibibbo. This exotic sounding grape is none other than the familiar Muscat of Alexandria. Its name is derived from the Arabic “zabib” for dried grape, and became the name for this grape variety when the island of Pantelleria was under Arabic control. Originally from Northern Africa, the Muscat of Alexandria is one of the oldest genetically unmodified grapes in existence and is the base of many of the world’s special sweet wines: Beaume de Venise in the Rhône, Vinho Moscatel in Portugal’s Setúbal region, Hane-poot in South Africa, etc. Indeed, the Vitas International Variety Catalogue lists 199 different names for this grape. Only 2 percent of Sicily’s vineyards are planted to Zibibbo, but it is far and away the most important variety planted on the island of Pantelleria. While Zibibbo is best known as the variety used to make the late harvest Moscato di Pantelleria and the sweet Passito di Pantelleria, today many producers also make dry and sparkling Zibibbo from grapes grown both on Pantelleria and on Sicily itself.

Chardonnay. Several international white varieties are planted in Sicily. The most important is Chardonnay, which was widely planted on the island beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today it is the most planted international variety and occupies five thousand hectares or more than 4 percent of all plantings. Tasca d’Almerita produced the first varietal Chardonnay and Planeta released its outstanding ripe, barrel-fermented Chardon-nay in the mid-1990s. Today, 98% of all Chardonnay in Sicily is planted in the provinces of Trapani, Agrigento and Palermo. Other producers of excellent Chardonnay-based wines include Cusumano, Donnafugata, Firriato, and Rapitalà.

Red GrapesNero d’Avola. This is Sicily’s most important red grape with 16 percent of total plant-ings. While grown all over the island., it is the domi-nant grape in the southeast vineyards of Butera and Noto and in much of the province of Caltanissetta in the central highlands where it represents 63 percent of total plantings. Because of the wide variety of growing conditions and differ-ences in wine making Nero d’ Avola takes on a variety of guises.

The most common characteristics of Nero d’Avola are dark fruit aromas, hints of herbs and rich earthy flavors. These characteristics are found among grapes grown along the coast and anywhere else that grapes are allowed to ripen longer. Good examples of this ripe style are Princip di Butera, Cusumano, Tasca d’Almerita, Duca Salaparuta, Duca Enrica and Feudo Maccari.

Since Nero d’Avola ripens relatively early growers need to take care to avoid over-ripe, high sugar grapes. Where grown at higher elevations with cooler growing conditions in the middle of the island, Nero d’Avola yields redder, fresh fruit. However, at 500 meters, it has difficulty ripen-ing and produces light, astringent wines. The top produc-ers of well-balanced, spicy dark red fruited Nero d’Avola include Tasca d’Almerita, Planeta, Caruso & Minini, Duca di Salaparuta, Valle dell’Acate, Occhipinti, COS, Morgan-te and Principi di Butera.

Nero d’Avola is frequently blended with international vari-eties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Cusumano, Donnafugata, and Mazzei blend with Bordeaux varieties, while Valle dell’Acate blends with Syrah.

Frappato. Grown almost exclusively in the southeast, Frappato has only 1 percent of total plantings in Sicily. However, its popularity is increasing due to its unique rose petal and red berry fragrance and delicacy. In Vittoria it plays a key role with Nero d’Avola in the blend Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of Sicily’s finest wines, which is now pro-duced by about 20 wineries. Frappato is mainly grown in sandy soils, and its bunches are tight and compact. Fermentation is usually done in stainless steel quickly and gently at low temperatures to preserve aromatics and fruit flavors. Frappato easily oxidizes and is usually over-whelmed by barrel fermentation and aging, so concrete vats and Slavonian botti are more commonly used. While Frappato lacks anthocyanins and is light in color, it is fla-vorful with red berry and pomegranate fruit flavors. Frap-pato is clearly not for cellaring and should be consumed within two to three years, akin to fine Cru Beaujolais.

The percentage of Frappato in Cerasuolo di Vittoria varies between 30 and 40 percent. Top producers include COS, Planeta, and Valle dell’Acate. Excellent, single varietal

The Nero d’Avola Grape

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Frappatos are made by COS, Occhipinti, and Valle dell’Acate.

Nerello Mascalese. Nerello Mascalese is the prized grape of Mt. Etna, producing some of Sicily’s most authen-tic and unique wines. It is primarily grown on Etna’s north slopes, but is also planted on the east and south slopes. Nerello Mascalese is a late ripening grape, usually har-vested in mid-October, with large clusters and berries and thick skins. Like Pinot Noir, the grape is highly sensitive to its terroir and in the case of Etna reveals the unique charac-teristics of the different contradas (crus) where it is grown. It is often blended with another important variety indig-enous to Mt. Etna, Nerello Cappuccio. Neither variety is widely planted outside of Mt. Etna, although the tiny Faro DOC that overlooks the strait of Messina also uses these varieties. Plantings of Nerello Mascalese are just over 3 percent of all Sicilian plantings, while Nerello Cappuccio is under 1 percent. There are many fine producers of Etna Rosso including Girolamo Russo, Le Vigne, Passopiscaro, Pietradolce, Tenuta delle Terre Nere, Tenuta di Fessina, and Graci.

Perricone. One of Sicily’s oldest grapes, Perricone used to be important in western Sicily, but today only occupies less than 400 hectares in all of Sicily. It almost became extinct after phylloxera devastated Sicily in the early 1900s. Perricone is a vigorous vine and needs green harvesting to achieve a balance between the foliage and the fruit. Depending upon where it is grown, Perricone can be deep in color and bitter or light in color and less astringent. A majority of producers use oak to ferment and age Perri-cone, but some like Caruso & Minini use stainless steel and produce lighter style wines.

Perricone is used both as a blending grape and a single varietal. It is frequently blended in small amounts with Nero d’Avola to increase palate texture and reduce high acidity. Both Firriato and Tasca d’Almerita blend Perricone with Nero d’Avola. Excellent single varietal Perricone is made by Caruso & Minini and Firriato.

Syrah. Like other international varieties, Syrah was only introduced into Sicily in the mid-1980s. Since its introduc-tion it has become the second most planted red variety in Sicily after Nero d’Avola and currently accounts for 5 percent of all plantings. Because of its adaptability to warm climates and sandy soils, most of it is grown in west-ern Sicily. Stylistically, Sicilan Syrah has been considered similar to Australian Shiraz with ripe, dense, and alcoholic traits. Top producers of Syrah include Caruso & Minini, Cottanera, Principi di Butera, Rapitalà, Valle dell’Acate, Planeta and Passopisciaro.

Bordeaux Varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and other Bordeaux varieties are also planted in Sicily. Like the other international varieties in Sicily they were actively promoted for use by the IRVV in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are mainly blended with Nero d’Avola to add color or structure. They are also combined with each other to produce Bordeaux blends. Excellent examples of Nero d’Avola and Bordeaux variety blends are made by Ceuso, Cusumano, and Don-nafugata. Planeta makes an interesting blend of Bordeaux varieties only.

Sicilian Food and Wine Pairing

Sicilian cuisine is just as exciting as its wines. It is exotic and bears the imprint of the different peoples that have occupied the island over the centuries: Greeks, Romans, Normans, Spanish, Arabs, French and northern Italians. Homer’s Odyssey describes the island’s bounty of fresh apples, pomegranates and grapes. The Normans intro-duced fish curing with salt, while the Spaniards brought tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables. But it was the introduction by the Arabs of almonds, eggplant, couscous, saffron and sugar cane that defined much of Sicilian cook-ing as it is today. During our visit to Sicily we had the good fortune to taste a wide variety of dishes at lunches and dinners around the island.

In this section, we identify many of the key dishes of Sicily from antipasti to desserts and offer suggestions on pair-ing them with wine. Sicilian dishes are usually simple and savory, and Sicilians value fresh ingredients. They also like to roll and stuff different foods. Rolled meats like Farssumagru, rolled fish like Involtini and, of course, Can-noli. Sicilians also like fried foods, stuffed fried dough, fritters, and Arancine, of course.

AntipastiSicilian appetizers are a wonderful prelude to the main meal, but can also be a meal all by themselves. Mari-nated mushrooms, prosciutto di parma, Sicilian olives, carciofi (marinated artichoke hearts), peperoni ripieni (baked yellow and red peppers) frittata, omelets of all kinds, carmelised onions, cheesy arancinette (miniature rice ball croquettes) and polpette di melanzane (fried and braised eggplant fritters)

Antipasti

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are among the appetizers we enjoyed for antipasti during our travels in Sicily.

Wines: Red and white wines pair well with most antipasti. For most of our meals in Sicily we drank both reds and whites for starters. Fuller bodied whites work well with spicy olives and marinated vegetables. Light-bodied reds are ideal for just about all antipasti, especially fried foods like arancinette or dried cured meats like proscuitto.

Fish and SeafoodFish and seafood are widely avail-able in Sicily. One of the most popular fish dishes is In-voltini di Pesce Spada, swordfish roll-ups stuffed with pine nuts, raisins, bread crumbs, and anchovies. Sicilians also love the taste of anchovies. Fresh and canned anchovies are featured in local dishes such as Spaghetti con Acciughe e Mollica Rossa (spaghetti with anchovy, fresh tomato sauce, and toasted breadcrumbs). Fresh sardines are also very popular and are usually fried or grilled but can also be stuffed and baked or featured in the popular pasta dish Pasta con le Sarde. Fresh tuna is plentiful in late spring and is cut into thin steaks, grilled and served with fresh tomatoes or other vegetables. Tuna is also preserved as in Tonno Sott’Olio and eaten sparingly as an antipasti or in salads.

Wines: Sicily produces a variety of white wines that are ideal for pairing with fish and seafood. Young, unoaked Inzolia, Grillo, Catarratto, and Carricante are all good choices for simple fish dishes and seafood. For richer fish and seafood dishes, anchovies and tuna, we recommend blends of these traditional grapes with Chardonnay, Sau-vignon Blanc, and perhaps Viognier. Other good choices would be barrel fermented single varietals like Chardonnay and Inzolia and barrel fermented blends of these wines or red fruit forward wines such as Frappato or darker more complex wines such as Cerusolo di Vittoria.

Pasta There are many distinctive pasta dishes served throughout Sicily. Pasta con le Sarde (pasta with sardines) is one of Sicily’s most famous pasta dishes. It is made all over Sicily, but the traditional recipe of Palermo is reputedly the best. Spaghetti alla Siracusana is another heavenly sauce of crunchy breadcrumbs, sardines, and parmesan cheese served with plain olive oil. An equally popular and delicious pasta dish is Pasta alla norma, which we ate at small restaurant in Etna. It consists of slowly cooked eggplant chunks with spices tossed into a basic tomato sauce and then tossed with ricotta and pasta. Pasta is often blended with vegetables such as Pasta con Broccoli

Involitini de Pesce Spada

e Zacca (green cauliflower and squash) or Spaghetti con Verdure di Campo e Ricotta (Spaghetti with Wild Greens and Ricotta) This simple and delicious dish in the creation of Anna Tasca of the famed family of Tasca d’Almerita Winery.

Wines: Because of the wide variety of pasta sauces in Sicily, pairing them with wine requires attention to the main ingredients. Red wines are usually paired quite success-fully with pasta with tomato sauces. While visiting Etna we found the high acidity and fresh flavors of Etna Rosso pair magnificently with fresh tomato sauces. Big reds work well with more complex and earthy pasta sauces.

MeatsIn our travels in Italy we seldom ate meat. However, there are some wonderful meat dishes in the Sicilian culinary repertoire. Farsumagru (rolled steak, stuffed sicilian style) is perhaps the most celebrated meat dish in Sicily. It is a steak stuffed with meats, cheese, eggs and vegetables and then rolled to look like a roast. Other tasty meat dishes are rolled up Braciole alla Sicilian, veal cutlets or scaloppini filled with olives and capers and grilled over coals, and Involtini di Carne, emat roll-ups stuffed with ham, cheese and pistachios. Spezzatino di Agnello con Patate (lamb stew with potatoes) is one of many savory stews served in Sicily. Another is Spezzatino di Vitello, or veal stew made with onions, tomato paste and vegetables.

Wines: Big, flavorful reds are ideal for pairing with meat dishes such as steak and lamb. Nero d’Avola is an excel-lent choice for most meat dishes, especially the darker riper styles that offer blackberry and earth flavors. Howev-er, blends of Nero d’Avola with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah also work well. Syrah by itself also usually pairs well with beef and lamb dishes. We couldn’t resist order-ing veal Marsala at a fine restaurant in the city of Marsala and enjoyed it with a red-fruited Nero d’Avola.

Doci (Desserts)Sicilian meals always feature a sweet ending. Desserts made with fresh ricotta cheese are regularly served at

lunches and din-ners and are often the high point of a meal. Cannoli con Crema di Ricotta is very popular in Sicily, and during our visit, we tried many differ-ent recipes. The best ones have crisp shells and are filled with freshly made ricotta

Farsumagru

Cannoli con Crema de Ricotta

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cream. Cassata is Sicily’s magnificent Arabian -inspired sponge cake with sweetened ricotta cream, marzipan and candied fruits. It is a specialty of western Sicily, espe-cially Trapani, but is a big production to make at home. Casatelle are ricotta-filled, fried turnovers stuffed with sweetened ricotta. These decadent sweet pastries are also common in Trapani and served with coffee in the morning or as a dessert. Tarts of almonds, figs and other fruits are also popular desserts and are usually made with Pasta Frolla, a flaky pastry dough sweetened with sugar and grated zest of lemon. Sicilians also often have plain fruit for dessert, and there are wonderful choices like yellow melons, figs, persimmons, blood oranges, kiwi fruit and dates. There are also mild local cheeses like caciocavallo, a semisoft cow’s milk cheese.

Wines: Sicily’s sweet wines, known as Passitos, pair beautifully with desserts. So long as they are sweeter than the desserts themselves and have adequate acidity, pas-sitos are excellent accompaniments to many of the desserts listed here. Marsala also pairs well with some desserts like cannoli and cheeses like Pecorino. A bold tasting Parmesano will go best with a bold Nero d’Avola.

The Market for Sicilian WineSicily has made significant improvements in the quality of the wines it produces and exports. As a result, foreign demand has increased, and exports of bottled wine more than doubled between 1999 and 2009. As shown in the graph, the most important market is the UK, followed by Germany, and the US. Other major importers of Sicilian wine are Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, and the Nether-lands.

While exports have increased, they are still a small percentage (about 10 percent) of total (bottled plus bulk) wine production, which was 4.8 million hectoliters in 2011. However, exports are mostly bottled wine, and exports of bottled wine are about 28 percent of the total 1.5 million hectoliters of bottled wine produced in 2011. Furthermore, the producers of especially high quality wine export a much higher percentage of their production: Firriato

(45%), Carlos & Menini (85%), Feudo Principi di Butera (60%), Valle dell’Acate (70%), Cottanera (40%), and Bar-one di Villagrande (55%).

In 2011 Sicily produced 4.8 million hectoliters of juice from grapes, of which 1.5 million hectoliters, or 31% of the total, was bottled in one form or another on the island itself. While the percentages vary year by year, about 65 percent of Sicilian wine is sold in bulk or as table wine, 30 percent is sold with an IGT appellation, and 5 percent is sold with a DOC or DOCG appellation. Total exports (in 2009) are 460 thousand hectoliters, 74 percent of which is bottled. In the decade 1999-2009, bulk wine exports plum-meted while exports of bottled wine more than doubled.

Sicily’s Appellations. Today, there are 24 Sicilian wine appellations (23 DOCs, 1 DOCG (Cerasuolo di Vittoria), and IGT), of which the most widely used is Sicilia IGT (indicazione geografica tipica), which was created in 1995. The flexibility the Sicilia IGT allows producers, including higher yields than DOC appella-tions, permitting the variety name on the label, sourcing fruit from anywhere on the island, and bottling outside Sicily, quickly made it the most popular of all appella-tions. However, as of the 2012 vintage, the Sicilia IGT appellation ceased to exist and is instead replaced by two other appellations—Terre Sicilia IGT and Sicilia DOC, both of which allow fruit to be sourced from anywhere on the island and the wine to be bottled outside Sicily. It will be challenging to clearly explain to consumers what these appellations mean, aside from “grapes grown in Sicily”. Meanwhile, only a few of the other 23 appellations are commonly used, mostly for wines that already have a clear identity, like Pantelleria, Etna and Cerasuolo di Vittoria. Given that the generic classifications Terre Sicilia IGT and Sicilia DOC are likely to be the appellations most consumers will find on bottle labels, it’s important that quality producers begin putting more detailed technical information on back la-bels as to the grape sources, production methods, and locations of processing facilities so that interested wine consumers can begin learning more about the diverse terroir of Sicily and its impact on wine quality.

Export Promotion

The current market for Sicilian wines in the US should grow in the coming years. The quality of the wines is excellent, and prices are competitive for most wines. One challenge for the Sicilian wine industry is to educate consumers and the trade about the improvements made in the quality of Sicilian wine in recent years. Another is to use the appella-tion system and improved wine labeling to market Sicilian wine more effectively (see box).

Marketing organizations like Assovini Sicilia are playing an important role in promoting Sicilian wine exports. Since Assovini’s 67 members produce 80 percent of the wines actually bottled on the island (as opposed to Sicilian wines bottled on mainland Italy, mostly by larger, more com-mercially oriented producers), it is in a unique position to promote the Sicilian wine industry in international markets. Assovini organizes an en Primeur, which since 2004 has

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presented the new vintages to the Italian and international press, but it needs to compliment this with other educa-tional activities and industry tastings in key international markets. Export promotion activities in the U.S. should include me-dia and education campaigns in major US wine markets and tastings for the trade and consumers. The media and educational campaigns should be done in both print and online with target groups identified with the assistance of the Institute for Foreign Trade, the Italian Embassy, and key importers. Sicily has exciting wines to promote in the U.S. market and a good story to tell. Wine enthusiasts would be keen to learn about the authentic, indigenous wines that are being produced in Sicily. Furthermore, the US wine media, including bloggers, need to be encouraged to write more about Sicilian wines, and the Sicilian wine industry itself needs to use social media such as Facebook and Twitter more effectively in generating excitement about Sicilian wines.

Lastly, wine industry leaders need to take action to clarify Sicily’s appellation system so that its fine wines are better understood and appreciated by consumers and the trade. Presently only a few of Sicily’s appellations are commonly used on labels and in the marketing of wines. These include Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Etna, Malvasia delle Lipari, Marsala, and Pantelleria. Each of these refers to specific grape varieties and unique terroir, which conveys valuable information to consumers, but in total they account for just a tiny percentage of Sicily’s total production. The recent ministerial decree allowing Etna producers to put the name of the contrada from which grapes were sourced on the bottle label is a useful step forward in helping consumers identify high quality wines. Hopefully, other DOCs in Sic-ily will soon follow suit in specifying the grape sources and production methods that account for their quality.

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Tasting Notes and Ratings

The wine reviews and ratings for this report include more than 200 Sicilian wines. They consist of both indigenous and international varieties and blends grown throughout Sicily. Although Sicilian wines are increasingly popular in the US market, many of the wines we tasted in Sicily are still not available in the US. This is especially true of some of the lesser known indigenous varieties and of Marsala. Notwithstanding the fame of Marsala, very few of the bet-ter wines such as the Marsala Vergine are being imported, which is most unfortunate. Hopefully, in time, when Sicil-ian wines are better known and appreciated, restaurants and consumers will have greater access to the full range of premium wines being produced in the country.

Our program of tastings was organized by Assovini Sicilia and other partners in Sicily. Most of the wines reviewed here were tasted during our visit to Sicily in May 2013. Wines we couldn’t taste during our visit because of time constraints, we tasted at our offices in McLean VA and Washington, DC. We provide tasting notes, ratings and prices for virtually all the wines tasted. Those not import-ed in the US, with some exceptions, are listed under Other Wines Tasted; tasting notes for these wines are provided in our Tasting Notes Archive watww.i-winereview.com

The International Wine Review rates wines using the 100 point system. We do not write up wines that receive a rat-ing below 85 points. The ratings are:

95 and above A wine of distinction 91-94 A wine of outstanding or superior quality 89-90 A wine of very good to excellent quality 87-88 A wine of good quality 85-86 A wine of fair or acceptable quality 84 and below Not recommended

We commonly add a + to a point score to indicate our judgment that a wine is deemed to be of higher quality than its point score but is not at the next quality level. That said, we urge our readers to look at our comments that help explain our ratings and provide more useful informa-

tion about a wine than a simple number. We do not rate wines tasted in barrel and often do not give final ratings of wines that are newly bottled. We mark these wines with a “?”

All tasting notes and ratings for this report also appear in the i-WineReview‘s Tasting Notes Archive at www. i-winereview.com. Subscribers may use the i-WineReview Search function to locate all reviews of individual produc-ers and their wines. Our tasting notes also include profiles of the producers who may be unfamiliar to our readers.

Abraxas is a small company located on the island of Pantel-leria. The company was founded in 1999 by former Agricultural Minister, Calogero Mamini and Attilio Tripodi. Abraxas has 26 hectares of vines farmed organi-

cally in vineyards at 120mt and 400mt. It produces 80,000 bottles of outstanding passito and unique red wines of very good quality annually. Two reds are re-viewed here. Importer: Wine Emporium, Brooklyn, NY

Abraxas 2009 Rosso Sidereus Sicily ($15) 89 A blend of Cabernet Franc and Nero d’Avola, the Sidereus is a rustic wine revealing aromas of dark and spicy red berry fruit with high acidity. It has good structure, youthful firm tan-nins and a pleasant finish. Sourced from a 360m vine-yard. Abraxas 2008 Kuddia del Moro Sicily ($30) 91 A more substantial wine than the Sidereus, this Nero d’Avola exhibits an attractive dark ruby color and aromas of plum and black cherry. It is a big rustic somewhat earthy wine although soft on the palate with dark spicy fruit flavors and tannic grip on the finish. Planted at 836m on volcanic soil at the foot of the ‘Montagna Grande’ on Pantelleria.

Barone de Villagrande This estate, one of the very few located on the eastern slopes of Mt. Etna at Milo, is situated at an altitude of 700m above sea level. It is fam-ily owned and operated; co-owner Marco Nicolosi Asmundo serves as winemaker. The wines produced by Barone de Villagrande are virtually all of indigenous grapes sourced from their Mt. Etna vineyards, which range from 15 to 75 years in age.

Over the past 10 years the company has also been managing a project on the island of Salina to produce passito from sun-dried grapes of Malvasia delle Lipari. The quality of Barone de Villagrande wines is very high. Unfortunately only two wines of this producer are currently imported. Importer: Ominiwines, Flush-ing, NY

Barone de Villagrande 2011 Etna Bianco Superiore Sicily 91 Yellow-green gold color. Herbal-olive and slightly nutty bouquet reflects some lees contact and a cool site. Very

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good acidity, bright and less heavy than most Carricante. The 5-8 months sur lie aging provides excellent depth and good body to support the fine acidic structure fresh fruit and real pretty, even floral character of the wine. A very long fine-boned wine. Barone de Villagrande 2010 Etna Bianco Legno de Conzo Sicily 91+ The name of this wine re-fers to the lengthy, lever beam of a Roman-style press. Full gold-green color. Rich, leesy aromas with overt herbal, nut and white peach scents. Quite fresh, lively flavors, even with the evident oak. Distinguished, balanced and richer in texture than the above wine, if a trace less elegant. Barone de Villagrande 2008 Etna Rosso Lenza di Man-nera Sicily 92 Unique because it was aged in traditional manner (chestnut barrels) for two years. Ruby-garnet color. Rich, black cherry, with slightly roasted plum and coffee aromas. Medium full bodied, with rich sweet, yet firm fla-vor reflecting some oak tannin. Quite harmonious, earthy and nuanced flavors, with a hint of balsamic. Very stylish, long and lightly herbal finish. Barone de Villagrande 2011 Fiore Sicily 90+ Fiore is a blend of 90% Carricante and 10% Chardonnay that is fermented and aged in French oak for 10 to 12 months.. Medium straw, it reveals aromas of orchard fruit, herbs, minerals and toast. These are mirrored on a full-bodied palate with a. crisp finish.

Other Wines Tasted: Baronet de Villa Grande 2008 Ciara Sicily 91 Baronet de Villagrande 2010 Passito Malvasia di Liparí Sicily 91, Barone de Villagrande 2011 Etna Rosso Sicily ($20) 89

Calcagno The vineyards of Calcagno are located in Passopisciaro in Mt. Etna and are planted on ancient lava flows. The winery produces wines from Nerello Mascalese and Carricante. Marco de Grazia assists with the winemaking and the quality is very good. Importer: unknown

Calcagno 2011 Arcuria Sicily 88 This is a pleasant tasting “rosso” of Nerello Mascalese, sourced from Mt. Etna. It re-veals aromas of red strawberries and plum with a soft and fruity attack, a flavorful palate, with firm tannins and a dry finish. Calcagno 2010 Arcuria Sicily 89 The medium-ruby colored 2010 Arcuria is a step up from the 2011 vintage. It is light and elegant on the palate with red berry fruit and a touch of earth and vanilla. It is more flavorful than the 2011 vintage and finishes dry with a bitter note.

Cantine Colosi Since 1987 Cantine Colosi has been produc-ing indigenous Sicilian wines on the small island of Salina in the Aeolian archipelago. Its vineyards consist of about 10 ha situated on volcanic soils. Colosi wines are produced by enologist, Piero Colosi

in collaboration with his father Pietro. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY

Cantine Colosi 2012 Dry White Sicily ($12) 87 Very pale straw, this wine is a blend of three indigenous white

grapes: Inzolia, Catarratto and Grillo. It is fruity with a nose of white peach and Muscat. The palate is off-dry and clean with a hint of bitterness on the finish. Colosi 2012 Nero d’Avola Sicily ($16) 87 Medium dark ruby. Bright, fruit forward with a Beaujolais-like nose. Medium-body, fresh, red fruited showing plum and raspberry on the palate. A pleasant and very drinkable style. Colosi 2010 Rosso Sicily ($16) 88 Medium-red ruby. Red raspberry and cherry aromas on the nose. Very quaffable and fruit forward, with good flavor concentration and firm tannins. A good pizza wine.

Caruso & Minini Located in the City of Marsala, Caruso & Minini owns 120 hectares in the hills between Marsala and Salemi at 350 meters in elevation. The operation is owned by Mario Minini who managed

a winery in northern Italy and Stefano Caruso whose family had been growing grapes and selling them to merchants for the past 100 years. The winery is lo-cated in a late19th century “baglio” in the heart of the traditional wine-cellar area of Marsala. The wines are well-made, of excellent quality, and offered at bargain prices. Importer: Vinifera Imports, Ronkonkoma, NY

Caruso & Minini 2012 Inzolia Terre di Giumara Sicily ($15) 88 The 2012 Inzolia has a medium straw hue and fresh aromas of pear and melon. It is full and round on the palate, fresh, friendly and un-complicated. Caruso & Minini 2012 Grillo Timpune Sicily ($16) 90 Timpune means ‘summit’ in Sicilian dialect; the ‘top’ both in altitude (here 400m) and also best of class. Pure, strong, lemon and floral (broom) nose. Not too fruity, but with a fine chalky texture, medium full body and somewhat similar to good Greco di Tufo, but with less finesse. This is a very good and fresh wine, with more length than many. Caruso & Mini Insula 2012 Sicily ($18) 89 This is an attractive blend of 50% Inzolia, 15% Catarratto and 35% Grecanico. It is fermented in stainless steel and in Acacia and oak bar-rels and kept on the lees for 6 weeks. It is very fragrant with aromas of flowers and passion fruit and flavors of sweet light peach with a hint of almond. Caruso & Minini 2011 Cutaja Nero d’Avola Sicily ($15) 90 Deep ruby purple. A lovely style of wine, with nutty-toasty aromas (but not oaky), dark red plum and black cherry fruits, with a touch of balsamic adding spice tones. Sappy, spicy flavors with good acidity and well-defined tannins showcase medium body. Caruso & Minini 2009 Sachia Perricone Sicily ($18) 91 The traditional black grape of the Marsala region. Sourced from a two hectare plot, the wine shows a fine dark ruby color and vivid floral, black cherry aromas accented by anise and herbal scents with a touch of earthiness. Firm acidity, not too tannic compared to Nero d’Avola, and no oak. Fine, elegant and lightly grippy flavors with floral and spice notes. Caruso & Minini 2011 Nero d’Avola Terre di Giumara ($15) 89 This Nero d’Avola is a delicious fruit forward wine offering notes of

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wild weeds and earth on the nose with a hint of huckleber-ry. It has an attractive earthiness on the palate with soft gentle tannins. 1/3 of the wine gets just a bit of oak aging in 3 year old barrels. Great value.

Other Wines Tasted: Caruso & Minini 2009 Syrah Riserva Delia Nivolelli ($24) 89 Caruso & Minini NV Marsala Superiore Riserva Secco Sicily 90, Caruso & Minini 2011 Tagos Grillo Vedemmia Tardiva Sicilia IGT 90+

This winery owned by the Melia brothers began operations in the early 1990s as “ garagistes. Today, the winery operates out of a restored “baglio” near the famous temple of Segesta in western Sicily. It produces four wines from 50 ha of vineyards and the quality is excellent.

Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY

Ceuso 2011 Scurati Nero d’Avola Sicily ($15) 89 This Nero d’Avola has a dark ruby color and youthful aromas of ripe plum, blackberry and earth. On the palate it is fruit forward with a hint of smoke, soft round tannins, good balance and a long finish. Aged for 8 months in cement vats and three months in bottle. Ceuso 2010 Fastaia Sicily ($27) 88 Fastaia is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot. It has a dark ruby color and aromas of ripe black prunish fruit, smoke, herbs and licorice. Aged in old cement vats for 18 months and in bottle for 4 months before release, it reveals a ripe mouth feel, firm round tannins, good structure and a long fin-ish. Ceuso 2008 Ceuso ($38) 91 A blend of 50% Nero d’Avola, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot. Opaque ruby. Black and dark red berry aromas followed by concentrated and earthy black fruit and roasted flavors on the palate. Lush with soft full mouth feel, round firm tan-nins and a lingering finish.

The Corvo Winery is one of Sicily’s oldest and best known wineries. Originally founded in 1824 by Giuseppe Alliata, duke of Salaparuta, Corvo became one of the best -selling Italian wines in the US in the 1970s

and 1980s. It is currently owned and operated by ILLVA di Saronno, a northern Italian drinks company which also owns Duca di Salaparuta and Florio. One of the largest wineries in Sicily today, Corvo purchases grapes from growers all over the island and produces close to a 1 million cases of good quality low-budget wine annually.

Corvo 2011 Bianco Sicily ($12) 88 The Corvo Bianco is an easy drinking wine made of Inzolia and Grecanico. Fer-mented in stainless steel, it shows good acidity and fresh-ness on the palate and on the finish. Corvo 2011 Rosso ($12) 88 The Corvo Rosso is a blend of Nero d’Avola and Nerello Mascalese. It is a delicious light and flavorful

wine for everyday drinking offing attractive cherry fla-vors that are also Pinot Noir-like in character. Corvo 2012 Irmana Grillo Sicily. ($12) 88+ This Grillo offer fresh citrus aromas with a light banana note. It is full and round on the palate with light flavors and a mineral edge. Pleasant and refreshing. Corvo 2012 Irmana Nero d’Avola & Frap-pato Sicily ($12) 89 This wine is a blend of 80% Nero d’Avola and 20% Frappato. Fresh red plum and cherry on the nose, it is big and soft on the attack with freshness provided by Frappato. The wine offers bright red fruit on the palate and is very easy to drink and is not unlike a good Cru Beaujolais.

COS Founded by three school friends, Giambattis-ta (Titta) Cilia, Giusto Oc-chipinti and Cirino (Rino) Strano in 1980, COS is a natural winery in the Vittoria region that started off with three hectares and

today owns 30. The name derives from the first letter of their last names. Fascinated by ancient wine methods, they work with 400 liter clay amphorae jars called Pithos, similar to those used by the ancient Greeks to make wine . They make nine different wines, including a sweet moscato. The COS wines are innovative and out standing. Importer: Domaine Select, New York, NY

COS 2011 Ramì Sicily ($30) 90 A 50-50 blend of Inzolia and Grecanico, co- fermented in concrete vats with 10 days skin contact, Ramì has a deep gold color, with strong acacia and dried herbs bouquet. Low yields con-tribute to a rich, nutty mid-palate accented by full, dried fruit flavors and a chalky texture. Distinctive and full fla-vored, made in an “earthy” style, there is good acidity and deep character which suggests keeping a couple of years will reveal more detail. COS 2010 Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG Sicily ($35) 92 Made using co-fermentation which helps to fix a deeper color, (dark ruby-violet), the wine showcases a deep lovely black cherry, lightly gamy and definite raspberry-fresh bouquet. Chalky, rich texture, fresh but earthy flavors and good length highlight this denser than usual Cerasuolo. While a bit oaky on the finish, there is excellent freshness with fine tannins and length. COS 2007 Contrada Sicily ($85) 92+ A pure Nero d’Avola aged two years in large oak botti (large casks usually 10 to 40 hl) and from a 60 year old vineyard. Contrada has a medium dark ruby-garnet color, indicating some maturity. Intense aromas of plum, black licorice, dark berry and some gaminess are framed by medium plus body and fine tannins. Solid yet with some elegant acidity on finish. De-licious and multi-layered. COS 2012 Frappato Sicily ($30) 92 Medium ruby-violet; the color of cru Beaujolais!. Lively cherry, raspberry and floral aromas lead to medium bod-ied lovely deep berry flavors. Elegant and nervy with fine tannins and fresh finish, there is real length to this wine, and good dry finish. COS 2011 Nero di Lupo Sicily ($30) 90 This 100% Nero d’Avola is fermented for 12 months in cement tank and no wood. It is dark and spicy, peppery

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and elegant. Medium weight. Round tannins. Young vines. COS 2011 Pithos Bianco Sicily ($40) 93 100% Grecanico. Made in the ancient style using amphorae, Pithos Bianco has a full gold color, and a rich dried apricot, apple-skin and nutty nose and flavor. Dry, with a sherry-like hint of savory nuts and vanilla, but not oxidized, it reveals el-egant, just slightly tannic flavors which confer fuller texture and length and suggest the wine can age a few years too. A very distinctive complex wine. COS 2011 Pithos Rosso Sicily ($40) 91 A 60-40 blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato crushed into, fermented and aged 8 months in amphorae. Medium ruby color. The bouquet is lovely, with hints of cedarwood, mineral/graphite, and black fruit. The palate shows fine but– firm tannins, good acidity and enough dry extract to buffer the other components. Lovely yet different with definite gamy notes, there is still pretty strawberry/clove and black pepper flavors on the finish. One of the best “ancient” wines being made today.

The Cottanera company was started in the early 1990s by Guglielmo Cambria (deceased) and his brother Enzo. Located on the northern slope of Mt. Etna in Castiglione di

Sicilia, the estate, consists of 55 ha planted to vine-yards at 700 mts. Initially planted with international varieties, the vineyards now include native grapes like Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Carricante. Enzo runs the company with children of Guglielmo. The wines are well-made and stylish. Importer: Banville & Jones Wine Merchants, New York, NY

Cottanera 2012 Barbazzale Bianco Sicily ($16) 90+ Floral, slightly lemony aromas with orange accents. Very pretty, bright flavors with good minerality accenting the fresh fin-ish. Quite lively Viognier adds some weight and tropical notes, while the high acidity, fresh and somewhat salty-mineral tang on finish may be the Inzolia’ s contribution to this delicious blend. Great Value. Cottanera 2009 Barba-zzale Rosso Sicily ($16) 90 Medium violet-ruby color. For a freshly bottled wine, already very expressive with fresh floral (rose), wild cherry and slight toasty accent from oak aging. Pretty, delicate flavors with light tannins, classy, nicely focused mid-palate black cherry and anise fruit with a hint of mineral-earthiness. Very good especially at price, and so easy to drink already! Cottanera 2009 Etna Rosso Sicily ($50) 91 Medium ruby with just a hint of garnet. . More roasted cherry and less floral, though a touch of violet, than the Barbazzale. The flavors are also more min-erally, with firmer tannins. Very good length; elegant, solid and fresh with a lovely cherry finish. Cottanera 2009 Fatagione Sicily ($32) 89 The Fatagione is a blend of 85% Nerello Mascalese and 15% Merlot and Syrah. Fermented in stainless steel and aged for 10 months in French bar-riques, 40% new, it displays a dark concentrated red and black fruit character with an earthy, spicy nose. It has a refined palate with silky tannins on the finish.

Other Wines Tasted: Cottanera 2012 Etna Bianco Sicily 88 Cottanera 2009 Sole di Sesta Syrah Sicily 90 Cottanera 2008 Nume Sicily 89

Cusumano is one of the larger family owned and operated wineries in Sicily. It has a diverse portfolio of wines from indigenous and interna-tional grape varieties. Its vineyards consist of: Ficuzza a 189 ha property at 700-800 m

in the district of Palermo used mainly for the production of its white wines; San Giacomo, a 140 ha vineyard in Butera used for its flagship Nero d’Avola; and Presti e Pegni, a 70 ha estate in Alcamo used for its red blends, Noà and Benuara. Brothers Diego and Alberto Cu-sumano manage the operation. The wines produced here are generally of a very high quality. Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL

Cusumano 2012 Alcamo Sicily ($12) 89 The 2012 Alcamo is a blend of 60% Catarratto, 30% Grecanico and 10% ar-omatic grapes. It has light fragrant aromas and a creamy palate of orchard fruit and melon. It spends 4 months on lees in stainless steel and shows notes of light pepper and bitter almond on the finish. Cusumano 2012 Insolia ($12) 89 The Insolia reveals aromas of ripe orchard fruit with a hint of banana.. It is soft on the attack contact with the skins. Cusumano 2012 Nero d’Avola Sicily ($12) 88 This dark ruby Nero d’Avola is fresh and easy drink with flavors of red berries and plum. 20% whole clusters, it is aged in stainless steel with good fruitiness on the mid palate and big tannins on the finish. Cusumano 2012 Cubìa Sicily ($21) 90 This 100% Insolia is fermented in 20 hectoliter barrels and spends 6 months on the lees and 8 months in barrel. It exhibits a golden yellow color with ripe tropical fruit on the note with a hint of banana and mango and oak. It has a silky texture on the palate with excellent acid-ity and freshness on the finish Cusumano 2011 Jalé Sicily ($30) 89 This 100% barrel fermented Chardonnay is rich and creamy with aromas of tropical fruit, hazelnut and toasted oak. It reveals lots of coconut and tropical fruit on the palate with good acidity and a crisp finish Cusumano 2011 Benuara Sicily ($17) 91 A delicious blend of Nero d’Avola and Syrah which complement each other well, the color is solid ruby. The bouquet reveals ripe black berry, with licorice accents. Very round and easy to drink already, the flavors show good richness, fine tannin and a hint of graphite minerality with real length. Cusumano 2010 Sàgana Sicily ($35) 91 This 100% Nero d’Avola is a delicious wine. It has a dark ruby color and aromas of blackberry fruit. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in used oak barrels, it maintains it fruit flavors with lots of earthy mineral nuances . It is tightly structured and elegant on the palate with firm round tannins on the finish that need time to resolve. Cusumano 2009 Noà Sicily ($42) 92 Noà is a blend of 40% Nero d’Avola, 30% Merlot

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and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark ruby almost opaque in color it offers black fruit with earthy aromas and a hint of licorice. Soft and elegant on the palate, it spends 12 months in French oak barriques and has round firm tannins and a very long finish. Cusumano 2012 Angimbé Sicily ($17) 89 A blend of 70% Insolia and 30% Chardon-nay it reveals a ripe tropical fruit nose with hints of pine-apple and passion fruit. It is soft and creamy on the palate with attractive lemon-like acidity on the finish. Cusumano 2008 Moscato dello Zucco Sicily ( $32) 92 Dark gold amber. This is a sweet wine with very high residual sugar (240 g/l), but it comes off as fresh and not overly sweet. It reveals a lovely rich mix of coconut, hazelnut, and dried apricot on a viscous yet elegant palate. Fermented in 40% new and 60% used barriques

Other Wines Tasted: Cusumano 2010 700 Vino Spumante di Qualita Brut Sicily 89+ Cusumano 2012 Ramusa Sicily 90+

De Bartoli Founded in 1978 by Marco De Bartoli, this winery has played a pioneering role in reviv-ing Marsala as a fine, artisanal wine. In addition, he raced cars and served as president of the IRVV research institute. Today his son Renato makes what may be Sicily’s finest Marsala, including the only non-fortified one, the

Vecchio Samperi reviewed here. His brother Sebastiano focuses on making the wines of Pantelleria. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY

De Bartoli 2011 Bukkuram Passito di Pantelleria Sicily ($58) 94 This red amber, 100% Zibibbo is exceptionally good showing an intense concentrate of sweet orange, apple and rhubarb. It’s just off dry and perfectly balanced with a pure focus, freshness, and excellent acidity. Half the grapes dry on the vine, while the other half are picked and air-dried for three weeks. The vine dried grapes are picked and fermented and then the raisins are added to macer-ate for three months. Aged 30 months in 225 L French oak. De Bartoli NV Marsala Superiore Riserva 10 Anni Sicily ($65) 94 Dark amber in color, this is benchmark Superiore with complex, dark aromas and flavors, complex and perfectly balanced. Milk chocolate, burnt sugar and caramel show on the nose, while the palate picks up more subtle flavors of roasted nuts, white chocolate and dried or-ange. Finishes long and just off-dry. 18.5° alc. De Bartoli NV Vecchio Samperi Ventennaie Sicily ($78) 95 Medium amber. This non-fortified wine isn’t technically a Marsala simply because it isn’t fortified, but it still carries 17.5° alcohol. Its’ the best Marsala type wine we’ve ever tasted, intensely aromatic and elegant, dry, and concentrated on the palate with dry mineral extract on the finish.

The Donnafugata winery is owned by the Rallo family and was launched in 1983. It is situated in the town of Marsala and sources grapes, both indigenous and interna-tional, from a neighbor-ing 642 acre- vineyard

at Contessa Entellina and 104 acres of Zibibbo vine-yards on the island of Pantelleria. The winery follows modern and environmentally responsible viticultural prices and produces high quality wines, often blending international and indigenous varieties. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA

Donnafugata 2012 Anthilia Sicily ($16) 88 The 20112 Ant-hilia is a blend of 55% Catarratto and lesser amounts of Inzolia and Chardonnay. It offers aromas of flowers, citrus and minerals on the nose. On the palate it exhibits fresh, clean and uncomplicated flavors with crisp acidity on the finish. Donnafugata 2012 Lighea Sicily ($20) 90 Very floral-grapy aromas with a minerally back note. Dry fresh and floral flavors with a chalky texture and taste finish with crisp acidity and good length. 12.5% 90. Donnafugata 2009 Chiaranda Sicily ($44) 90 This Chardonnay displays a yellow straw color and aromas of fresh yellow fruit and a hint of mango. Aged for 5to 6 months partly in oak and partly in cement, it is fresh and full on the palate showing fruit that mirrors the nose with very light hazelnut, coconut, mango and minerals on the finish. Very flavorful with a persistent finish. Donnafugata 2011 Sedàra Sicily ($16) 88 A medium ruby red, the Sedàra is a blend of Nero d’Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. It boasts dark cherry and herbs on the nose that carry over to the palate with a fresh light bitter note. Finishes with firm, somewhat dry tannins. Donnafugata 2008 Tancredi Sicily ($44) 89 Tancredi is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Nero d’Avola . Semi-opaque in color it offers aromas of black raspberry, cassis, and wood spice on the nose. It is full and firm on the palate showing mostly dark fruit, minerals, and dark loam. It finishes with ripe fruit and astringent tannins. Donnafugata 2008 Mille e una Notte Sicily ($85) 90 This bottling is a blend of Nero d’Avola and a small percentage of other varieties. It offers lean, dark fruit on the nose and a soft full palate. While nicely flavored, it is showing astringent tannins and high acidity at this stage of development. Donnafugata 2010 Ben Ryè Passito di Pantelleria Sicily ($44) 93 Copper gold. This Zibibbo-based passito shows intense fresh apricot and blood orange aromas, followed by a lovely, soft attack and viscous, lightly sweet flavor. Made from grapes dried naturally in the sun and wind for 20-30 days. Aged in stainless steel and bottle. A 2006 vintage of this same wine was even more voluptuous and integrated

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Duca di Salaparuta is one Sicily’s oldest and most illustri-ous wineries. Established in 1824 by Edoardo Alliata di Vllafranca, the winery earned a reputation for consistent quality of its wines into the modern era. From the late

1960s to 1997, the talented Franco Giacosa served as technical director and he was followed by several other excellent winemakers. Duca di Salaparuta is one of three historic brands owned by ILLVA di Saronno, a northern Italian drinks company, the other two being Corvo and Florio reviewed elsewhere. The wines of Duca di Salaparuta are mainly sourced from estate vineyards in Butera and Vajasindi Estate at Castiglione di Sicilia on Mt. Etna and as a group are excellent wines. Importer: Corvo Wines USA

Duca di Salaparuta 2012 Kados Sicily ($25) 91 Grown in one of the best sites near Trapani on sandy-limestone soils, this shows strong Grillo character. While recently bottled, it already reveals nutty, peach-tropical fruit aromas with fresh fruity and crisp flavors. Slightly chalky texture from aging on fine lees for a few months adds weight and interest, while the lemony finish is accented by some spicy white pepper notes. A very clearly defined yet rich wine. Duca di Salaparuta Passo delle Mule Sicily ($25) 91+ This 100% Nero d’Avola boasts a medium dark red color with aromas of ripe cherry, vanilla and toasted oak. Sourced from the high altitude Suor Marchesa estate in southern Sicily, it reveals good acidity and freshness on the palate with excellent structure and a long finish. Duca di Sala-paruta 2009 Làvico Sicilia ($25) 91 Làvico is an attractive bottling of Nerello Mascalese sourced from the Vajasindi estate situated on the volcanic slopes of Mt. Etna at 700m altitude. Dark red cherry in color, it is intensely flavored with spicy red berry fruit. smoke and a light tobacco note. Aged 12 months in small oak casks, it is elegant on the palate with high acidity and a long satisfying finish. While grown on Etna (Castiglione di Sicilila), this wine is bottled at the main winery in Casteldaccia. Duca di Salaparuta 2010 Nawàri Pinot Nero Sicily ($40) 91 The Nawàri Pinot Nero is also sourced from the Vajasindi estate on the slopes of Mt. Etna. It is medium ruby red and offers aro-mas of red berry fruit and a hint of mint with lots of vanilla oak at this point. Aged for 12 months in fine grained oak barriques, it is soft and full on the palate with fine, firm tannins and high acidity on the finish. Duca di Salaparuta 2008 Duca Enrico Sicily ($59) 92+ Duca di Salaparuta’s vines grow on a limestone-sandy site. Deep colored, the bouquet reveals rich, potent and quite dark fruit aromas with hints of vanilla-oak and a hint of roasted fruit. Full bodied and well-structured with fine tannins and good acidity, this vintage will definitely benefit from 6-8 years aging, though the kirsch-like flavors particularly notable on the finish make it delicious now. Duca di Salaparuta NV Ambar Moscato (.375L $12) 91 Yellow amber. Fresh, con-centrated lemon with honeycomb notes. Gorgeous clean

palate with notes of lemon and a light honeyed accent. Beautiful,and clean--not complex but beautiful.

Feudo Maccari Established in 2000 by Antonio Moretti and his daughter Monika, this 250 acre estate is located in Noto. It was assembled from numer-ous owners and more that 50 separate plots on the southern hillsides near the town of Noto. Vines existed in some parcels

and in others they were planted to native varieties with the advice of consulting winemaker, Carlo Ferrini. The quality of the wines is very high. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY

Feudo Maccari 2012 Grillo Sicily ($15) 90 Medium yellow-green color. Classic Grillo nutty aroma is enlivened by dis-tinctly floral-herb scents, which lead to sophisticated flavors suggesting white peach, and mineral-oil flavors surprisingly less herbal than the nose suggests. A sophisticated wine produced from 10-year-old alberello vines. Feudo Mac-cari 2011 Nero d’ Avola ($15) 88 Fermented in stainless steel, this Nero d’Avola displays a dark earthy color with ruby highlights and blackberry fruit on the nose. It is very ripe and densely flavored on the palate with a hot finish. Feudo Maccari 2010 Saia Sicily ($30) 89 This 100 Nero d’Avola from a ripe vintage spends 12 months in French oak. It is ripe in style offering noses of black fruit, choco-late and tobacco on plate. A huge wine, extracted with firm somewhat hard tannins. Over the top in extraction like a ripe Zinfandel and hot on the finish.

Other Wines Tasted: Feudo Maccari 2008 Maharis Sicily 90 Feudo Maccari 2011 Sultana Moscato di Noto Passito Sicily 91. Feudo Maccari Vino Spumante Rose Brut Sicily 89

Located in the province of Cal-tanissetta, Feudo Principi di Butera consists of 360 ha, 180 ha planted mainly with Nero d’Avola, Inzo-lia (40%) and other international varieties (60%). The Zonin family has been owners of this estate since 1997, once owned by Prince of De-

liella, part of the Italian Royal family. The vineyards are of calcareous and clay soils, have a density of 5,000 plants per hectare. and are irrigated as needed. A low spurred cordon system is used. .Franco Giacosa, who originally identified the property for Zonin, served as winemaker until a couple of years ago; Antonio Cufari serves as winemaker today. The high end Deliella,100% Nero d’Avola, is the estate’s best wine. Importer: Casa Vinicola Zonin USA, Charlottesville, VA

Principi di Butera 2012 Insolia Sicily ($14) 88 Quite pro-nounced fresh lemon blossom and green almond aromas promise much, and the palate delivers with moderately rich, tropical fruit flavors with just a hint of banana. Very

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nicely done, with more depth than some other Insolia wines tasted. Principi di Butera 2011 Nero d’Avola Sicily ($14) 89 The 2011 Nero d’Avola has a dark ruby color and aromas of dark red plum with some wood spice Aged in 50% Slavonian botti and 50% tonneaux, it is a pleasant tasting wine and easy to drink with soft tannins on the palate but finishing with firmness and good length. Give the wine time for aeration. Principi di Butera 2011 Syrah Sicily ($14) 90 The 2011 Syrah offers dark plum fruit and spice with hints of spice, tobacco, forest floor and vanilla on the nose. The palate shows good balance with dark plum fruit, chalky tannins, and a touch of astringency on the finish. Shows northern Rhone earthy graphite. Principi di Butera 2008 Deliella Sicily ($20) 92 This 100% Nero d’Avola reveals a dark ruby color and aromas of earthy blackberry and chocolate. It is ripe,and full fla-vored on the palate with prominent chocolate and caramel notes and some pepper. It finishes with good length and richness with hints of wood spice and soft tannins. Only a touch of heat on the finish limits the wine.

Other Wines Tasted: Principi di Butera 2011 Riesi Sicily 88, Principi di Butera 2006 Deliella Sicily 91

Created in 1987 by Salva-tore and Vinzia di Gaetano, Firriato is one of the largest wine producers in Sicily. It is located in Paceco just east of the city of Trapani,

but purchases grapes throughout Sicily. It has four es-tates in the west and one on Mt. Etna (Tenuta Cavane-ra) of 11 hectares. Stefano Chioccioli of Tuscany is consulting enologist. It owns 320 hectares (790 acres) of vineyards and produces more than 5 million bottles of wine annually. During late 1990s it had Australian and NZ enologists. Importer: Soilair Selection, New York, NY

Firriato 2012 Favinia La Muciara Sicily ($42) 92 From the island of Favignano just off the coast from Trapani, this ele-gant, minerally-herbal scented blend of Zibibbo and Grillo showcases chalky flavors, strong fruit extract and a fine saline finish in a medium full-bodied and distinctly impres-sive package. Firriato 2012 Cavanera Etna Bianco ‘Ripa di Scorciavacca’ Sicily ($37) 91 Delightfully sleek, minerally and herbal nose with unique almond accents. Better than average acidity for Etna white wines is complemented by a fairly full chalky texture (Carricante speaking). Nicely fo-cused and precise with good length, this is a fine example. Firriato 2012 Chiaramonte Inzolia Sicily ($17) 89 Showing a slightly reductive, but fresh, steely citrus-herbal aroma, this zesty white does have enough pear-guava flavors to yield a flavorful easy to drink wine for early consumption. Firriato 2011 Chiaramonte Nero d ‘Avola Sicily ($17) 89 Vinified in stainless steel and aged in American oak for six months.. Full in the mouth with good structure, it reveals earthy herbal flavors with blackberry and a concentrated slightly bitter note on the finish. Firriato 2012 Etna Bianco Sicily ($19) 88 This Etna Bianco is a blend of 80% Car-

ricante and 20% Catarratto and spends two months on lees. It has a fresh crisp nose with a hint of citrus and is bright, fresh and crisp on the palate with mineral notes. Very pleasant. Firriato 2011 Etna Rosso Sicily ($19) 89 The Etna Rosso is composed of 80%Nerello Mascalese and 20% Nerello Cappuccio. It spends six months in barriques and reveals aromas of black cherry with lovely fruit purity on the nose. It has a soft and expressive palate and. fills the mouth with dark red fruit, cracked pepper, and a long finish. Firriato 2011 Favinia Passulè Sicily ($42) 90 Dark gold amber. This is a 100% Zibibbo from the Isola di Fa-vignana, located about 7 km from the west coast of Sicily, dried partly on the vine, partly in the sun. The wine shows an intense, almost pungent nose of apricot. It’s soft, round and very concentrated, showing honeyed apricot on a vis-cous palate, finishing dry despite its 200 g/l RS. Firriato 2010 Harmonium Sicily ($44) 92 Medium deep ruby-violet color. Fine, black berry and some light peppered aromas. Firm tannins, and sporting rich oaky flavors, the palate is quite chewy though with solid dark berry-plum fruit lurk-ing in the background. Firriato 2010 L’ Ecru Passito Sicily ($45) 93 Amber gold. This elegant, superbly balanced wine is mostly Muscat with about 10% Malvasia. While it shows high density of dried apricot and herbal rosemary, it also has a bright, uplifting elegance. Finishes tasting dry despite the 150 g/l RS. The grapes are partly dried on the vine and partly picked and dried in the sun. Firriato 2012 Quater Sicily ($35) 89 The Quarter blends four indigenous white grapes in one glass: Grillo, Catarratto, Carricante, and Zibibbo. The blend spends 4 months in stainless steel and offers floral, Muscat and lemon notes. It reveals interesting, complex flavors with herbal and citrus fruit notes with very good acidity. Firriato 2010 Ribeca Sic-ily ($38) 91 Made from the nearly extinct local variety Per-ricone, Ribeca shows a pretty medium-full ruby color. Dark berry aromas are accented by definite vanilla-oak which somewhat obscures. Firm and minerally black fruit flavors with slightly lean tannins. Distinctive and inviting. Firriato 2011 Santagostino Sicily ($19) 90 This is a 50/50 Nero d’Avola and Syrah blend that spends 8 months in French barrique. It reveals black cherry, blackberry, with a loam note. It is tight, firm but freshly flavored with a nice focus, ripe gentle tannins and along pure finish.

Florio This is Marsala’s most famous winery, having been the first estab-lished by a Sicilian, Vicenzo Florio, in 1832. Today it’s owned by the big ILLVA di Saronno drinks group. Its el-egant Marsala wines are made using only Grillo and are aged 8 years in the barrels stored in Florio’s huge 164 m long, old warehouse. Giuseppe

Garibaldi began his quest to unify Italy in Marsala in 1860; he later returned to Marsala to celebrate his victory at the Florio winery. Unfortunately, Florio’s best quality Marsala wines are not imported to the US. Importer: Banfi Vintners, NY

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Florio Donna Franca Marsala Superiore Riserva 15 Anni Sicily 93 Medium dark burnt sienna fading to gold at the rim. This Superiore offers spicy, kahlua like aromas. The palate is bright and fresh with excellent balance between sugar and acid, although the flavors are deep and dark—a concentrate of coffee, fits, and a hint of bitter chocolate. 90 g/l RS Florio 2009 Passito di Pantelleria DOP Sicily 91 Orange amber. This Passito is dried on the ground for 20 days and aged in oak barrels for 8 months. It shows scents of tangerine, apricot, and tangy raisins that are complemented on the palate by flavors of dried apricots, sultanas, and just a hint of burnt sugar. 14.5% alc. Florio 2008 Passito Malvasia delle Liparí 92 Orange amber. This passito made from Malvasia and Corinto Nero grapes grown on the volcanic island of Salina is like drinking liquid velvet with its viscous, soft texture and sweet, long finish. It reveals gorgeous orange and apricot marmalade accented by rosemary. The grapes on sun-dried for 20 days, then pressed and fermented slowly until fermentation stops and aged 6+ months in 225 L oak barrels. 140 g/l RS and 13.5% alc. Florio NV Targa Riserva 1840 Marsala Superiore Riserva SemiSecco Sicily 91 Light brown amber. This semi-dry wine is made only of Grillo grapes and aged 10 years in barrel. It’s soft, lightly sweet with good acidity, showing date like aromas and flavors. Not real complex but delicious nonetheless. 70 g/l RS. Florio 2000 Terre Arse Marsala Vergine Sicily 92 The just off-dry Terre Arse is a first rate Marsala Vergine made only of Grillo with excellent integration of flavors and excellent balance. It shows orange flowers, tea, apricot, roasted nuts, and distinct rancio notes all interwoven on a creamy palate, finishing with excellent length. The wine comes from bush-trained vineyards facing the sea near the beach, aged 8 years in old oak barrels. 19° alc.

Other Wines Tasted: Florio NV Ambra Secco Dry Fine Marsala Sicily 88; Florio NV Ambra Dolce Sweet Fine Marsala Sicily 88; Florio NV Moscato Sicily 88

Girolamo RussoGiuseppe Russo makes the wines at this tiny boutique winery named after his father Girolamo Russo. The winery is located on Mt. Etna in Passopisciaro and produces about 12,000

bottles per year. Giuseppe, who is also a pianist, took over the family business in 2004. The operation has 15 hectares at 650 to 750 meters is divided into three parcels. Giuseppi initially made his wine with help from Marco de Grazia, and now has Emiliano Farsini consulting . His wines consist of three labels. ‘A Rina, Feudo and San Lorenzo. All are made from Nerello Mascalese grapes. The wines are first class in quality. Importer: Pannebianco, New York, NY/ Oliver McCrum, Oakland, CA

Girolamo Russo 2011 ‘A Rina Rosso Sicily ($34) 90 The ‘A Rina is a blend of 95% Nerello Mascalese and 5%

Nerello Capucco. The wine is medium dark ruby garnet and has a fresh nose showing fresh dark red plum, and earth. Aged for12 months in used barriques, it has nicely integrated flavors excellent balance, although the barrel notes are somewhat prominent as this stage of develop-ment. Girolamo Russo 2010 Feudo Etna Rosso Sicily ($55) 92 A warmer but less concentrated vintage than 2011, from a lower, more sand-pumice infused vineyard, this is a wine to enjoy now for its immediacy. More ruby than garnet to color Earthier nose, less floral, but clear Nerello black and sour cherry notes (amarena in Italian). With more minerality on the palate, less obvious fruit, firm tan-nins, yet a dense dusky, flavorful finish, it still shows aging potential over the next 5 years. An excellent and quite prototypical Etna Rosso. Girolamo Russo 2011 Ne Rina Etna Bianco Sicily ($45) 92 Medium yellow color. Rich, nutty-mineral yellow flower (broom, acacia) bouquet with a touch of herbs, too; quite vivid,. Medium bodied, crisp and firm flavors with a full texture, nutty peppery flavors and a slightly bitter orange rind-like finish which contrib-utes a nervy structure and adds to the length. Very strong Etna Bianco.

Graci Alberto Graci is among the top producers working the north slope of Mt. Etna. His vineyards are situated at Passopisciaro at an altitude of 600 to 1,100 meters and his vines are densely planted in vol-canic soils ranging between 6,000 and 10,000 vines per hectare. Some of the vines are on their own roots. His Contrada Barbabecchi is situ-

ated at 1,000 meters and consists of 2 ha of pre-phyl-loxera Nerello Mascalese planted over 100 years ago. His Contrada Arcuria consists of 25 ha, 18 planted to vines, mainly Nerello Mascalese and small amounts of Carricante and Catarratto. Part of Arcuria includes ungrafted alberello (bush vines) planted at a density of 10,000 vines per hectare. Graci’s wines are excellent. Importer: Massanois Imports, Washington, DC

Graci 2011 Arcuria Etna Bianco Sicily 89 Fine slightly minty, herbal and nutty aromas showcasing the distinctive Carricante character above all. Balanced, fresh, and not too high in acid. Solid, green pear finish. Fresh. Graci 2011 Etna Rosso Quota 600 Sicily 91+ The Etna Rosso Quota 600 is dark ruby red and shows fresh dark red ber-ry fruit on the nose with hints of herbs and toast. Aged for 18 months in large format barrels. It is soft on the palate with good freshness and acidity and a long finish. Graci 2011 Arcuria Etna Rosso 90 Solid, light ruby-violet color. Fairly full on palate, with strong black cherry, floral (violet) and graphite aromas. These are framed by structured, firm tannins and a little less mid-palate density than the above, as it originates from younger vines. Made under the guid-ance of Carlo Ferrini of Tuscany. Capable of aging 4-5 years, but not as much finesse.

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Cantine Intorica is a small family owned and managed business established in 1930 that produces good to excellent Marsala. Francesco Intorcia is the current owner. Importer: Vinilandia, Kittery ME

Intorcia NV Marsala Vergine Riserva 1980 30 Anni Sicily 88 Medium brown in color, this reserve is made of wines that have been in barrel at least 30 years. Showing notes of dates, dark caramel and burnt sugar, it is well balanced and dry on a lightly weighted palate. Intorcia NV Marsala Vergine Soleras Sicily 87 Amber brown in color, this is a straightforward Marsala showing notes of dark corn syrup, honey, and molasses. It’s surprisingly dilute on the palate, but pleasantly dry.

Irene Badàla Etna Rosso 2011 92+ All from old vines at Contrada Santo Spirito; 2000 bottles. Made under the guidance of Marc de Grazia. Full deep ruby-violet. Ripe, deep black cherry fruit on nose, with raspberry-violet ac-cents like Chambolle Musigny. Quite full on palate, though not especially mineral; high extract, and rich but fine tannins. Quite stylish and long, this has real promise, and can take 2-4 years aging.

Le Vigne di Eli These wines are made by Marc de Grazia on his daughter’s behalf. The wines are mod-erately priced and offer outstanding values. A good percentage of the income from the sales of the wines is contributed to the pediatric department at Children’s Hospital, Florence. Importer: A Marc de Grazia Selection, Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY and other importers

Le Vigne di eli 2011 Etna Bianco Sicily ($25) 90+ From a vineyard on the eastern slope of Etna near Milo, prized especially for its white wines. Made from old vines. Vi-brant acidity combined with minerally herbal scents. The flavors show the vibrant fresh and tangy character of white wines from this section of Etna where it is high, more humid and to some degree, cooler. Medium-bodied, stylish and elegant, very invigorating wine. Le Vigne di eli 2010 San Lorenzo Sicily ($43) 91 The San Lorenzo is medium ruby in color and offers lovely fresh, dense and earthy aromas. It is rich and lush in the mouth with red fruit and earth notes, good acidity, finishing long with ripe tannins. 2010 Le Vigne di eli Etna Rosso($25) 93 The Contrada is Moga-nazzi. Most of Moganazzi is 700m in altitude. Medium ruby-garnet color. Floral, lovely raspberry and cherry with violet and darker berry aromas. Finely tannic, with deli-ciously juicy, yet graphite-minerally black fruit, anise and cherry flavor with subtle violet tones. Very well balance, and capable of improving over the next 5-7 years. One of the classiest Etna Rossi tasted.

Mazzei--Zisola This estate located just outside Noto is owned and operated by the Mazzei family from Tuscany, one of Italy’s most renowned and respected families. The 50 hectare estate consists of 21 hectares of vineyards planted at a density of 5,500 vines per hectare trained in the traditional alberello style. The vineyard is mainly planted with Nero d’Avola and small amounts of

Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. The es-tate produces two wines, Zisola, a 100% Nero d’Avola and Doppiozeta (ZZ), a blend of Nero d’Avola, Syrah and Cabernet Franc. This estate produces high quality wines. Importer: Palm Bay International, Boca Raton, FL

Mazzei 2011 Zisola Nero d ’Avola Sicily ($26 ) 92 Full dark ruby color. From a cooler year, here the red fruit (cherry, black raspberry) aromas predominate, along with a loamy earthiness. The palate is quite rich yet fresh, with some graphite-cedar flavors, fine tannins very forward fruit with hints of plum and some subtle framing vanilla oak (1/3 new French oak, but also partly aged in steel). A quite poised example of Nero d’Avola from its original area that doesn’t stray over into the chocolaty overripe style. Mazzei 2010 Zisola Nero d ’Avola Sicily ($26) 89 The 2010 Zisola Rosso has a dark ruby hue and red fruit aromas with notes of herbs, earth, and tar. It is fresh and full-bodied on the palate with bright fruit notes, high acid-ity and a rich satisfying finish. Mazzei 2010 Doppiozeta Sicily ($54) 93 The 2010 Doppiozeta is a blend of Nero D’Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. A lavish and complex wine, it boasts a dark chocolate cherry nose with assertive charred oak notes. Aged for 15 months in barrique, 50% new, it is fresh and bright on the palate showing loads of lovely up front fruit and chocolate with toasted oak notes and a long finish. Mazzei 2008 Doppiozeta Sicily ($54) 91 The 2008 Doppiozeta is from a warm vintage and is a riper wine than the 2010. It shows a touch of prune, chocolate, charred oak, and mint on the nose. On the palate, it offers velvet black fruit, lovely texture with graphite and minerals, and finishes with ripe soft tannins.

Mirabella This label is owned by Giuseppe Bianchi Distillati, under the management of Pino Bianchi and his son Claudio. The firm was started by Leone Bianchi in Marsala in the 1950s. Mirabella makes a full range of Marsalas, including egg-cream (cremovo), mostly aimed at the broad consumer market.

Mirabella Marsala Vergine Riserva 20 Anni 90 Medium topaz color. Aromatically complex and well balanced on the palate, this Marsala shows notes of butterscotch, tangerine marmalade, and orange pekoe tea. It has a medium long finish and is quite delicious but rather lightly weighted. Made of Catarrato and Grillo grapes. Mira-bella 1989 Marsala Superiore Riserva 91 Brown topaz. This is a delicious, easy drinking Marsala showing notes of

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walnuts, figs, and dates. It’s soft and mellow in the mouth with good balance and length and prominent notes of walnuts and figs on the finish. While it doesn’t have the complexity of the best Marsalas, it shows good depth.

The Morgante Winery was established in 1994 by Antonio Morgante and his sons, Carmelo and Giovanni. It is lo-cated in southern Sicily near Agrigento and has a little over 60 ha under vine at 300 to 600 m. Winemaking is in the hands of Ricardo Cotarella, one of Italy’s finest winemakers. The winery’s

two wines are reviewed here: a standard Nero d’Avola and the Don Antonio Nero d’Avola Riserva. Both wines are outstanding. Importer: A Leonardo Lo Cas-cio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ

Morgante 2010 Nero D’Avola ($18) 91 Medium dark ruby. This Nero d’Avola displays a lovely nose of ripe black cherry and plum with charred oak and spicy balsamic notes. It is a very juicy wine, soft and round and packed with fresh flavor. It has good acidity and structure with sweet tannins on the finish. Morgante 2009 Nero d’Avola Riserva Don Antonio Sicily ($42) 93 The Nero d’Avola Riserva Don Antonio reveals a lovely powerful nose of tobacco, charred oak balsamic, and a hint of bitter choco-late. It has a velvet textured palate with layered flavors, showing dark red fruit with fresh, unctuous and earthy nuances It has firm round tannins, think extract and a very long finish.

Occhipinti This small artisanal winery is owned by the young and talented winemaker Arianna Occhip-inti. She launched her winemaking venture in 2004 with only one hect-are and today produces wines from 12+ hectares of vineyards in Vittoria which are cultivated organically without the use of chemicals either in the cellar or in the vineyard. She produces wines from Frappat , Nero

D’Avola, Muscat and Albanello, an ancient grape that isn’t produced very much anymore. Arriana’s uncle, who stimulated her interest in wine. is Giusto Occhipinti of COS wines. Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York , NY

Occhipinti 2011 Frappato Sicily ($42) 92 This 100% Frap-pato is sourced from 50-year- old vineyards. Dark ruby in color it offers earthy red plum and spicy aromas on the nose followed by complex and layered gamey red fruit flavors with considerable minerality on the palate. . Fer-mented in stainless steel and aged in 25 hl Slavonian Botti, it shows beautiful balance and structure, finishing long and pure with big tannic grip. Occhipinti 2006 Siccagno Sicily ($42) 92 Medium deep ruby violet color. Some gami-ness along with cassis and violet on the nose, with a touch of graphite and some animal notes add nuance. Finely

tannic, with good acidity and lovely raspberry, mineral fla-vors, the wine shows good length and real elegance in an earthy style. A very stylish, if “down to earth” wine that is nearing its peak. Occhipinti 2012 SP 68 Sicily ($27) 89 Very fragrant, floral-herb aromas. Round, soft flavors, with good length and delicacy that is quite distinctive, showing intriguing overtones of rosemary, wild herbs (garrigue).

Palari This tiny winery located in the hills of the Straight of Messina, was built by the Sicilian- born architect Salvatore Geraci and his brother, agronomist Giampiero. It consists of seven hectares of old alberello- trained vineyards of pri-marily Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio with small amounts of little known Italian varieties like Acitana,

Galatena and Calabrese. Since its first commercial vintage in 1994 Palari has been highly acclaimed and deservedly so. The winery also produces a Rosso del Soprano and Santa.Ne’ not reviewed here. Importer: Panebianco, New York, NY

Palari 2007 Faro Sicily ($65) 90+ Medium ruby red with aromas of violet, black raspberry liquour, and gamey notes. It’s soft and supple on the palate with dried herbs, some notes of vanilla and firm round tannins. Aged for 12 months in Rocais oak barrels and 12 months in bottle. A delicious wine and one of the classics of Sicilian artisanal winemaking.

Passopiscaro Owned by Andrea Franchetti of Tenuto di Trinoro in Tuscany, Passopiscaro is located on the slopes of Mt. Etna. The estate consists of 200 hectares with the vines averaging 80 years in age. Franchetti has 8 hectares of old vines at 650-1000 meters and follows organic viticulture with no herbicides or fertilizers. Franchetti

made his first wines in 2001 which were blends of Nerello Mascalese with Merlot and Petite Verdot. However, by 2003 he decided he could make stunning wines without blending. The estate makes 2,300 cases annually, and the wines are all first rate. Importer: T. Edward Wines, Ltd. New York, NY

Passopisciaro 2010 Rosso Sicily ($45) 90 A blend of the vineyards. Pale ruby-garnet (cooler year). Delicate floral-mineral nose. Lighter flavors with slightly firmer tannins, though quite elegant for drinking over the next 1-3 years. Passopisciaro 2011 Guardiola Sicily ($40) 91 The first vin-tage for this wine. Medium ruby-violet. Grown at 800m. Very pure black fruit, violet nose with graphite nuances. Integrated tannins, fairly full mid-palate and real sense of flesh make this a complete wine, based upon some of the oldest vines, some pre-phylloxera, that Passopisciaro owns. 2011 Passopisciaro Parcaria Sicily ($90) 93+ From Contrada Parcaria, a south-facing vineyard at just 650

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meters. Medium ruby-violet. Richer dark cherry and black berry nose shows less earthy-graphite scents. Deep flavors, with firm tannins are balanced by good fruit, yet this will need 5-8 years to soften and evolve, being a more powerful wine. 2011 Passopisciaro Rampante Sicily ($60) 93 From Contrada Rampante at 950-1000 meters. Lovely medium ruby-violet color. Lively, elegant black cherry, lightly floral-violet perfume which adds an enchanting deli-cacy. High-toned elegant and fresh flavors, almost ethe-real, though backed by firm tannins. The wine’s high-wire balancing act between Pinot noir-like finesse of fruit and bouquet and Nebbiolo-like tannin will reward a few years aging, but perhaps better enjoyed now with roast duck. 2009 Franchetti Rosso Sicily ($150) 91. Labeled with his own name, Franchetti Rosso is made from the distinctive if somewhat unknown Cesanese d’Affile grape that Franchetti brought in from its native area in the mountains about 25 miles east of Rome, with 20% Petit Verdot. An indigenous Italian variety transplanted to a different mountain area (1000m), the result is rich, fresh and distinctive, though large-framed! Deep ruby-violet color. Dense potent black fruit-cassis, and mineral-violet bouquet. Focused tannins frame quite full, layered fruit flavors, with the alcohol some-what noted on the finish, yet overall quite balanced.

Carlo Pellegrino Founded in 1880 by Paolo Pellegrino, the historical cel-lars of Carlo Pellegrino are located in downtown Marsala with over 40 thousand hl in oak barrels and casks. The winemaker is Gaspare Catalano. Unfortunately none of the premium Marsalas and passitos we tasted in Sic-ily are currently imported to the United States. However, two basic Marsalas

not reviewed here, are imported. Importer: Frederick Wildman, New York NY

Pellegrino NV 1880 Marsala Superiore Riserva Sicily 90 This medium brown amber Superiore shows dried apri-cot and brown sugar with a light vanilla note. It’s richly aromatic and of medium sweetness. Made of Grillo and Catarratto aged in Slavonian oak. 18° alc. Pellegrino 1880 Marsala Vergine Soleras Secco Sicily 92 Amber orange. Rancio perfume of baked apricot, nuts, and notes of brown sugar and orange. Medium dry palate picks these up as flavors with good acidity and a light bitter note on the finish. Superb. 92 Fruit from Trapani--Marsala and Mazara del Vallo. Fortified with 5 year old brandy and spends 5 years in Slavonian oak of 50 and 80 hl. 19% alc Pellegrino 2011 Duca di Castelmonte Centáre Bianco Sicily 89 A blend of Chardonnay and Insolia. Fragrant, ripe pear nose. Crisp and fresh with high acidity, pear flavors. Steely in character. 89 Went well with a plate of anchovies, finely chopped onion, and orange citrus bits. Pellegrino 2009 Duca di Castelmonte NES Passito di Pantel-leria 92 This red orange, lightly sweet dessert wine reveals superb balance and incredible length with aromas and flavors that cover the spectrum from dried cherry and tan-gerine to hints of almond and butterscotch. It’s creamy on

the palate and finishes with a light sweet note. Pellegrino 2011 Duca di Castelmonte Zibibbo Sicily 90+ Perfumed Muscat like aromas with a marzipan note. Fresh and off-dry with a light bitter almond note on the finish. Shows good balance with excellent acidity. Pellegrino NV Duca di Castelmonte Zibibbo Sicilia IGP 91 An attractive, fresh off-dry wine showing a perfume of Muscat and a touch of marzipan. It has great balancing acidity and a nice, light bitter almond note on the finish with 16% alc.

PietradolceEstablished in 2005, Pietradol-ce is in the town of Solicchiata on the northern slopes of Mt. Etna. The company has 11 hectares of vineyards located between 600-900 meters above sea level. The soil is light and stony, full of minerals offered by the volcano. The vines planted are those typical

to the area- Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccino and Carricante. They look to traditional methods of grape growing combined with modern techniques to provide the best wine possible. The quality of the wines is excellent. Only the Etna Rosso is currently imported. Importer: North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA

Pietradolce 2012 Archineri Etna Bianco Sicily 90 The Archineri is a Carricante-based wine sourced from 100-120 year-old old pre phylloxera vines grown at 850 m altitude. Fermented in stainless steel, it reveals an excel-lent palate of minerals, herbs and white flowers ripe with good acidity and balance. Pietradolce 2011 Archineri Etna Rosso Sicily ($34) 89 The Archineri Rosso is a 100% Nerello Mascalese offering fresh red fruit, earth and a note of tar. Aged for nine months in 500 L tonneaux, it is well balanced with good acidity and is quite elegant with a chalky mineral finis Pietradolce 2012 Etna Rosato Sicily 90 This rosé of Nerello Mascalese has a pale orange pink color with aromas of anise peach and apple. It is full of flavor with dense cherry and chalky minerals on the finish. Pietradolce 2010 Vigni Barbagalli Sicily 92 This wine combines power and elegance. It is a selection of the best parcels of Nerello Mascalese vines 80 to 100 years old and spends 20 months aging in tonneaux. It displays dried cherry aromas with a hint of vanilla and has an elegant velvet palate with a hint of vanilla and a long finish. This is the first year this wine was produced and it was highly successful.

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Planeta Established in 1985, Planeta is a large family winery with operations in six estates across Sicily. The estates in-clude: Ulmo winery at Sambuca di Sicilia with 93 ha, Dispensa with 161 ha at Menfi, Dorilli with 34 ha at Vittoria, Buonivini at Noto, 51 ha, Feudo di Mezzo

at Mt. Etna, 16 ha, and La Baronia at Capo Milazzo with 8 ha. Each estate produces different international and indigenous varietals and blends according to their location. Planeta is a highly successful winery that produces wines of outstanding quality and individuality. The winery is jointly managed by Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta. Importer: Palm Bay International, Boca Raton, FL

Planeta 2009 Burdese Sicily ($42) 92 Burdese is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc.. It is a big semi-opaque and well-structured wine with aromas of blackberry, cassis, and smoke. Aged for 14 months in new French oak, it is meaty in character and finishes on an elegant, chalky note. Planeta 2011 Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG Sicily ($23) 91 Medium violet-ruby. Fresh, grapy-floral light red fruit bouquet with a touch of graphite. Ripe, fairly viscous medium-bodied flavors show good focus and depth for the area. Lovely fruit and light tannins provide a good sense of proportion and yield a wine of Cru Beaujo-lais-like style with meatier flavors. Planeta 2011 Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico DOCG Sicily ($33) 92 More purple-ruby than above wine, likely due to higher percentage of Nero. Fragrant, richer aromas with some cocoa-vanilla oak fram-ing dark cherry and some pepper scents. More layered, though less ‘fat’ than the above wine and with more fresh acidity, this is altogether a firmer wine that shows both excellent finesse, deeper structure and capability to age 2-3 years and improve. Planeta 2011 Chardonnay Sic-ily ($43) 91 This barrel fermented Chardonnay is one of Planet’s finest wines produced from international varieties. Dark yellow straw in color, it offers aromas of butterscotch, vanilla, and pineapple on the nose with notes of coconut that are mirrored on the palate. Aged in 50% new French oak, the palate shows good weight, balance and persis-tence. Planeta 2012 Cometa Sicily ($43) 91 Made from 100% Fiano cuttings brought in from Irpinia (its homeland), and planted on clay soils. Lively, floral-orange blossom aromas enlivened by distinctive capsicum spiciness! Quite rich, with glyceriny mouth feel, there is plenty of Fiano orange blossom, peachy fruit balanced by medium acidity to yield a long, focused wine. The touch of pepperiness in the finish adds individuality to this Fiano seldom seen out-side of Irpinia. One of the best white wines tasted in Sicily this trip. Planeta 2011 Passito di Noto Sicily ($41) 92 Dark straw. This air dried (for 45 days) 100% Moscato Bianco passito shows saffron, tangy apricot, sultanas, orange and a hint of earth on the nose. But it’s the creamy, rich ripe pineapple custard palate that wins the stars here. The finish is long and medium sweet. Just 9.5% alc and 180 g/l RS.

Planeta 2010 Santa Cecilia Nero d ’Avola Sicily ($ 43) 93 100 % Nero d’Avola. 14 months in Allier barriques (used). Dark ruby red. Violets, black raspberry, a bit savory. Full with flavors of exotic spices, note of dark chocolate, with huge depth and persistence. Ripe, soft tannins. Made from grapes in its native Noto area in extreme southeastern Sicily near the coast. Medium strong ruby color More red fruit aromas than black, with wild cherry and a pretty touch of raspberry; quite different from Nero d’Avola made further west. Firm acidity and very fine tannins.

Other Wines Tasted: Planeta 2012 Alastro Ulmo Vineyard Sicily 91, Planeta 2012 Eruzione 1614 Carricante Sicily 92, Planeta 2011 Plumbago Sicily 91, Planeta 2012 Moscato Bianco Secco Sicily 91

Rapitalà is located outside of Palermo near the town of Camporeale in northwestern Sicily. Established in 1971, its vineyards consist of 225 ha (175 planted) of clay and sandy soils, with some lime-stone, situated at an elevation

of 300 to 600 meters. The vineyards are divided into 180 parcels and grapes are vinified separately in a new modern cellar, which holds French oak barriques and large format barrels. Tenuta Rapitalà produces indigenous and international varieties and blends with consistent quality. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY

Rapitalà 2012 Grillo Sicily ($14) 89 Light yellow green. Fragrant aromas of lime zest with a hint of banana and herbs on the nose. Very pleasant lychee and tangerine on the palate with a crisp lingering finish. Rapitalà 2012 Casali Catarratto Sicily ($21) 88 A blend of Catarratto and Chardonnay the Casali displays a yellow straw hue with waxy aromas and a ripe orchard fruit note. It has a medium weight creamy palate with rather subdued fruit, mostly ripe apple with a light spice note. Casali means house of God in Arabic Rapitalà 2011 Grand Cru Char-donnay Sicily ($40) 91 Medium gold straw. Rich vanilla oak nose but not overdone with hints of tropical fruit. Lovely integrated palate, rich but with good acidity. Excel-lent balance, velvet mouth feel, long finish Fermented in stainless steel and aged in oak 20% new oak for one yr.. Rapitalà 2010 Solinero Syrah Sicily ($55) 91 This Syrah exhibits a dark ruby red hue and is richly aromatic. It is ripe fruited with earth and cracked pepper notes and is lovely on the attack, quite soft but with a richly flavored, nuanced palate. Finishes clean, very flavorful, and with good length. Rapitalà 2012 Cielo Daclamo Late Harvest ($40) 91 Medium dark amber gold. This blend of Sauvi-gnon and Catarratto displays an almost pungent botrytis and mushroom nose. Viscous and rich on the palate, it reveals good complexity with a honeyed earthy character, finishing clean and bright with good acidity. Fresh tasting more than dried fruit tasting.

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Other Wines Tasted: Rapitalà 2012 Syrah Terroir Sicily 87, Rapitalà 2012 Sire Nero Sicily, Rapitalà 2012 Nero d’Avola Campo Reale Sicily 88, Rapitalà 2011 Nuhar Sicily 22 89, Rapitalà 2012 Rosato Sicily 88

Santa Anastasia (Abbazia) In 1980 this former abbey lo-cated in the province of Pal-ermo was transformed into a model wine estate with a renovated winery and cellars completed in 2003. The

vineyards consist of 80+ hectares at 200 to 400 meters with a density of 3,500 vines per ha. Winemaker, Vicenzo Nicoli produces wines from indigenous and international varieties. Consulting winemaker Riccardo Cotarella also lent a hand along the way. Importer: Empson USA, Alexandria, VA

Santa Anastasia 2011 Nero d’Avola Contempo Sicily ($13) 87 Dark ruby red. Fruit forward with spicy dark red fruit. Simple and soft on the palate, but rather one dimensional with a hint of a tanky note on the finish. Santa Anastasia 2010 Passomaggio Sicily ($21) 88 A blend of 70% Nero d’ Avola and 30% Merlot. Sweet earth, dark red fruit, spice, hint of balsamic on the nose. Slight bitterness on the palate with somewhat firm dry tannins on the finish.

Setteporte is the brainchild of Piero Portali, whose property is one of the only ones on the south slopes of Etna at Bian-cavilla. His family owns a fine restaurant in nearby Catania as well. He started making wine from the family’s 16 hectare estate about 30 years ago but only started bottling in 2002

on the advice of his friend, Michele Satta of Bolgheri in Tuscany. The vineyards lie between 650-800 meters, and he only bottles about 2000 cases of wine a year, the balance sold off in bulk. Marco de Grazia is cur-rently making Portali’s wine. As Piero puts it: “I just want to drive my tractor in the vineyards and tend my babies.” Importer: Martin Scott Wines, Lake Success, NY

Setteporte 2010 Etna Rosso Sicily ($22) 89 Medium light ruby with red cherry fruit and earthy notes. Fermented in stainless steel, it is fruit forward, easy drinking with gentle tannins. Simple, flavorful, and correct. Setteporte 2011 Nerello Mascalese Sicily ($40) 89 This is an earthy dark fruited wine that is quite fresh and fruit forward with and herbal, balsamic nose. It is ripe and fleshy on the pal-ate with a touch of bitterness on the finish. A fine single varietal wine. Setteporte 2012 N’ Ettaro Sicily 89+ This is a blend of 65% Carricante and 35% Catarratto. It is crisp with good varietal character and reveals chamomile, herbs and yellow flowers on the nose with an earthy palate of

ripe fruit. It is nicely structured with good acidity on the finish.

Tasca d’Almerita Founded in 1830, Tasca d’Almerita has been one of leaders of Sicily’s quality wine revolu-tion and the reference point for ultra-high quality wine. The winery is located on the Regaleali estate in the scenic rolling hills of the province

of Caltanissetta and is one of the most beautiful in Sicily. Tasca’s vineyards across four separate estates total over 500 ha and are planted with international and indigenous varieties which are often blended in the wines. The company is owned by Count Lucio Tasca, a descendent of the original owners) and is managed by himself and his sons Alberto and Giuseppe. Laura Orsi is winemaker, and Tuscan winemaker Carlos Ferrini, has served as consulting winemaker.

Capofaro on the island of Salina produces sweet Mal-vasia on 6 hectares of land. The Whitaker Estate on the island of Mozia west of Marsala was once a colony where the Whitakers from England came to make wine similar to that of Marsala. There are 7 hectares of the Grillo grapes. Tenuta Tascante in Mount Etna grows the Nerello Mascalese grape with 12 hectares of vines, 750 meters above sea level. Sallier de la Tour in the northwest has 45 hectares and produces Syrah. Importer: A Leonardo LoCascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ

Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali 2012 Regaleali Bianco Sicily ($15) 88 The Regaleali Bianco is an easy-to-drink- blend of three varieties--Inzolia, Catarratto, and Chardonnay. It has a floral bouquet and a clean fresh palate of orchard fruit and citrus that is well balanced with a crisp finish. Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali 2011 Nozze d’ Oro Contea di Sclafani DOC ($30) 90+ 60% Inzolia and 40% Sauvignon Blanc. Quite fine fresh, herbal slightly appley and tropical aromas and flavors. The bright Sauvignon Blanc herb character and crisp acidity adds distinctive vivacity to the richer, mineral-nutty flavors from the Inzolia. Nicely done. Tasca D’Almerita 2010 Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali 2010 Chardon-nay Sicily ($60) 89 This Chardonnay has a yellow gold color and aromas of tropical fruit and toasted oak. Aged for nine months in 350 L barrels, it offers ripe tropical fruit, smoky, sweet oak; and a fruity alcoholic finish. (15% alc). Tasca d’Almerita NV Diamante d’Almerita Sicilia IGT ($60) 90 Medium gold. Made from 60% Moscato Bianco and 40% Gewürztraminer, this wine is pure, sweet ripe stone fruit, both aromatically and in terms of flavor. Clean flavors and excellent acidity lend charm to this wine. Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali 2011 Le Rosé Regaleali Sicily ($15) 90 There aren’t many better rosés in Sicily that this one. It is made from 100% Nerello Mascalese and fermented like a white wine. It is clean, fresh tasting, and lightly fruited

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with lovely red berry notes on the nose and crisp acidity on the finish. Regaleali Tasca d’Almerita 2010 Lamuri ($20) 92 Lamuri is a delicious 100% Nero d’Avola aged for 12 months in French oak. It reveals spicy dark raspberry, violet and red currant fruit typical of the area. Lamuri is the local Sicilian dialect for ‘l’amore’- love! Tasca’s love for the Nero grape is evident here. The palate shows good length, with gamy-graphite fruit accented by fine tannins and elegant medium-bodied, suppleness on the finish, yet good strength in the mid-palate. Some wood smoke adds to the finish. Made from younger vines in the Rosso del Conte vineyard parcels, this will reward 3-5 years aging. Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Con-tea di Sclafani Sicily ($65) 91 The Cabernet Sauvignon dis-plays rich aromas of cassis, cedar and smoke on the nose. Aged for 18 months and a minimum of one year in bottle, it offers rich ripe fruit with a touch of herbs and brambles, soft round tannins, and a long finish. Tasca D’Almerita NV Capofaro Malvasia di Liparí Salina IGT ($60) 90 A beauti-fully fragrant, floral and herb-accented bouquet shows fine freshness and Malvasia nuance. Spicy, orange zest and lightly Muscat-like grapy flavors are balanced by good acidity. Very complex, but light on its feet as well for a passito-style wine. Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali 2008 Rosso del Conte di Sclafani Sicily ($70) 93+ Aged 18 months in new French oak barrels, Regaleali’s flagship wine shows a full ruby-purple color this vintage. Lively, black raspberry, wild cherry aromas are enveloped by subtle smoky-oak scents. Fine acidity supports lovely fruit flavors: black-berry, violet, graphite. Firm yet silky tannins surround all, and provide a racy, mineral edge. Balanced for aging 6-8 years, this is a handsome wine which shows old vine structure, finesse and power. Wines Also Tasted: Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali 2012 Grillo Sicily 91 Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali 2010 Ghaia Nera Sicily 91 Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali 2012 Tascante Car-ricante Buonora Sicily 89

Noted Italian wine exporter Marco de Grazia has 21 hectares of his own vineyards on Etna and produces at least eight different wines. He owns property between Solic-chiata and Randazzo and has 11 hectares at over 650 meters in Calderara Sottana.

He also has a one hectare vineyard, with many pre-phylloxera vines by the winery called Don Peppino and vineyards in Contrade Guardiola, Feudo di Mezzo and Santo Spirito. All of his wines are DOC Etna. He has helped fledgling winemakers in Etna such as Russo, Cavaliere and Terre di Trente produce their wines. He also houses and makes the wines for young winemak-ers such as Binoche, Moganazzi and Vulkaanreizen, among others. Importer: A Marc de Grazia Selection, Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY and other importers

Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2012 Etna Bianco Cuvée de Vigne Niche Sicily ($31) 91+ Full yellow gold color. 12 hours skin contact in the press contributes a richly nutty, dried apple-peach aroma. Full-bodied and firmly textured flavors show earthy nuances, with hints of yellow fruit, and a glyceriny finish. Slightly oxidated notes reminiscent of mature Meur-sault contribute to the wine’s overall character and unusual length. Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2012 Nero Mascalese Etna Rosato Sicily ($18) 91 Shows minerals and red berries on the nose and palate. Superbly balanced with excellent acidity, one of the best rosés we’ve tasted this year. Made with one vat that undergoes malo, which gives roundness on the palate, and one that does not, which provides an uplift. Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2011 Etna Rosso Sicily ($20) 91 Pretty medium ruby-violet. Lovely floral black cherry and violet aromas; classic Nerello! Crunchy, red fruit and mineral-graphite flavors with firm tannins and some earthi-ness with aeration. Chewy finish, yet soave and elegant, so should age well and soften over 4-6 years handsomely. Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2011 Etna Rosso Calderara Sottana Sicily ($39) 95 Made from 60-70 year old vines, showing a rich dark red cherry nose. Soft, velvet like with gorgeous, refined flavors. Feminine, rich and seductive Perhaps the most delicate of de Grazia’s reds, the flavors show lovely florality and the finest tannins. Yet a firm core of darker berry fruit balanced by good acidity and fine graphite flavors yields the best balanced wine of the group. Very classy. Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2011 Etna Rosso Santo Spirito Sicily ($39) 94 “My Ava Gardner wine”, says de Grazia, referring to the curvy actress of the 1940’s-50’s. Full ruby color. Subtle, floral-cherry bouquet. Mature, soft tannins enrobe blackberry flavors, with a more meaty center, yet the fruit has a feminine, Chambolle-Musigny-like suppleness. The soils here are deep ash. A more forward plush wine that will be better yet in 3-5 years. Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2011 Feudo di Mezzo Sicily ($39) 92 Dark ruby and dark fruited. From 60+ year-old vines, the wine has a powerful, concentrated nose showing dark cherry and a hint of balsamic that are reflected on a big, velvet textured palate. A big, powerful wine with a lot of grace. Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2011 Etna Rosso Guardiola Sicily ($39) 93 Spicy, with notes of dark red fruit. Linear and focused on the palate, refined with violet and cherry a hint of vanilla and a chalky texture. Firm tannins. Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2011 Etna Rosso Prepylloxera le Vigne di Don Peppino Sic-ily ($84) 94 Produced from a century-old plus one hectare section of Calderara behind the winery. Don Peppino is named after the old owner/caretaker who taught de Gra-zia so much about Etna’s potential for great wines. Very stony soils. Pretty, ruby-violet color, with a touch of garnet. Dark black cherry, baking spice aromas from the oak and distinctive spicy accents provide a great introduction to the thick, chewy black berry/cherry flavors.

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Tenuta di Fessina Property of Federico Curtaz, one time agronomist for Angelo Gaja, and an old friend of Marco de Grazia, who sug-gested he buy this property in Rovitello, which is cooler than Randazzo to the west,

and thus produces a quite different, more floral and less weighty style of Etna Rosso that is refined and elegant. Importer: A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ

Tenuta di Fessina 2010 A Puddara Bianco ($37) 90 This 100% Carricante displays a pale straw color and aromas of minerals and honey with a hint of acacia, Aged for nine months in French oak, it is rich on the palate and fills the mouth with exotic flavors and has a chalky finish. Well done. Tenuta di Fessina 2011 Etna Rosso Erse Sicily ($35) 91 Medium ruby-garnet color. Pretty, subtle black fruit, mineral-tar and floral spicy aromas showcase pure Nerello Mascalese character. Elegant, and firm at once, the wine shows a solid moderately intense core of fruit. A very good base level Etna Rosso, it has good acidity and fin-ishes clean with firm tannins. Overall, very pleasant. Te-nuta di Fessina 2010 Il Musmeci Etna Rosso Sicily ($65) 92 Medium light ruby-garnet color. Deeper brighter perfume of both sour and dark cherries (amarena and marasche in Italian),accented by delicate violet florality. Lovely fruit on the palate, medium bodied, chewy yet sweet cherry-miner-al flavors. While the acidity is somewhat high, the tannins are rounder and more complete. This is a fine delicate wine with real length and deeper textured than the Erse, but also requiring 3-4 years aging to soften and integrate. Tenuta di Fessina 2010 Ero Rosso Nero d’Avola Sicily ($25) 91 Medium dark ruby. This Nero d’Avola displays a lovely nose of dark red plum with a hint of spicy balsamic. It reveals typical red fruit characteristics for this variety, but is a very juicy wine, packed with fresh flavor and sweet tannins. Tenuta di Fessina 2011 Laeneo Nerello Cappuccio Sicily ($25) 89+ Dark ruby. Black raspberry and red plum with note of dark cassis. Pure, juicy and savory on the at-tack and palate, showing dark fruit with blue notes. Hint of bitterness with firm tannins on the finish. A terrific blending grape.

Valle dell’Acate Located in southeastern Sicily, Valle dell Acate is owned and operated by Gaetana Jacono whose family has been producers in the area for six generations. Their vineyards total 100 hectares and have been replanted since 2001 They grow indigenous and international varieties on sandy-clay soils.. The

winery bottles 33,000 cases annually and has a large and diverse portfolio. The quality of the wines is out-standing. Importer: Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY

Valle dell’Acate 2012 Zagra Sicily ($19) 90 The Zagra is 100% Grillo and exhibits yellow green-gold color and floral aromas with a hint of herbs. On the palate it has very fresh fruit flavors, good balance, and a layered spicy finish with notes of bitter almond. A complex wine for this grape. Valle dell’Acate 2012 Il Frappato Sicily ($20) 89 The Il Frappato has a perfumy nose of red berries and rose petals. It is very fresh and fruit forward with nice firm tannins, no cloying sweetness and. good acidity. Simple flavors but very clean without that candied Beaujolais character. Fermented in stainless steel and left on the skins for 15+ days. Valle dell’Acate 2009 Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG Sicily ($23) 92+ This extraordinary Cerasuolo is a blend of 70% Nero d’Avola aged in 350 liter tonneaux for 10 months; and 30% Frappato aged in stainless steel tanks. After blending, the wine is aged in bottle for an additional 12 months before sale. Medium ruby garnet color, it offers a lovely black cherry and floral bouquet, showing freshness and real individuality. It has well struc-tured, elegant red berry flavors with discrete tannins and baked cherry/raspberry compote nuances. The finish adds some savory earthy tones. Valle dell’Acate 2010 Il Moro Sicily ($23) 92 Il Moro is 100% Nero d’Avola fermented and aged one year in Stainless steel and one year in the bottle. It is elegant and red fruited with notes of earth and dark red cherry, quite sweet and ripe in character. Soft and lush on the palate, it has gentle ripe tannins and a long velvet finish. Valle dell’Acate 2010 Tane Sicily ($50) 91 Tane is a blend of 85% Nero d’Avola and 15% Syrah. It spends 12 months in barriques, 50% new. Dark ruby. rich toasted oak, violets, dark red cherries, with a hint of framboise on the nose. Big, soft, lush on the palate show-ing lots of dark cherry fruit and garden herbs. Finishes with a sweet balsamic note.

Other Wines Tasted: Valle dell’Acate 2012 Insolia Sicily 89 Valle dell’Acate 2010 Rusciano Sicily Valle dell’Acate 2011 Bidis Sicily 91

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Previous Wine ReportsIssue 1 California Petite Sirah Issue 2 Red Table Wines of Portugal Issue 3 Grenache Wines Issue 4 Syrah Issue 5 Malbec: Argentina’s Magnificent Malbec Issue 6 The Wines of Southern Italy: From Quantity to Quality Special Report Portugal: The Douro Boys and Barca Velha Issue 7 New Zealand’s Exciting Pinot Noirs Issue 8 The Wines of Ribera del Duero Issue 9 Champagne Issue 10 Unoaked Chardonnay: It’s More Than Wood Issue 11 2005 Bordeaux Crus Bourgeois Issue 12 California Petite Sirah - Syrah Update Issue 13 The Wines of Rioja: Classical and New Wave Special Report Introduction to Sherry Issue 14 The World of Sparkling Wines and Champagne Issue 15 The Wines of Chianti Classico Issue 16 Oregon Pinot Noir Issue 17 Sauvignon of the Loire Issue 18 Wines of Navarra Issue 19 Wines of Greece: Assyrtiko and Santorini Issue 20 The Santa Lucia Highlands Issue 21 The Chilean Wine Revolution Issue 22 Grapes and Wines of the Western Loire Issue 23 Ribera del Duero Revisited Issue 24 The New Wines of Portugal Double IssueIssue 25 The Wines of Austria Issue 26 The Diverse Wines of Argentina Double IssueIssue 27 Sweet and Dessert Wines of the WorldIssue 28 The Wines of PrioratIssue 29 The Wines of Monterey CountyIssue 30 The Wines of South Africa Double IssueIssue 31 Brunello di MontalcinoIssue 32 The New Wines of IsraelIssue 33 The Wines of Paso RoblesIssue 34 Champagne RevisitedIssue 35 The Wines of SoaveSpecial Report South African Chenin BlancIssue 36 The Wines of Santa BarbaraIssue 37 The Wines of Sicily

These reports are available online at www.iwinereview.com