Prelude “Sicily, wine on the road” is nothing more than a collection of information gathered from various Sicilian wineries visited between Summer and Fall 2012 during a slow and long journey. Along the wine roads I met some of the best excellencies of this region. The intent of my journey being not only to rediscover the good wine of the island, but also to meet the men and women that with great devotion and tenacity, work there, to make the name of Sicilian wine in the world become greater day by day. All the info has been collected in short, yet exhaustive cards that highlight the different techniques and practices carried out by the twenty-five wineries we visited. The text is enriched by a diverse collection of photographs of the Sicilian landscape, giving the reader more information about the great diversity of soil and climate of the isle which is essentially expressed in the style of the wine produced. The intent of this book is not to be a “good buyer's guide” but to give awareness to the enthusiastic reader, by a panoramic of the land and by explaining the philosophy each winery adopts “in the way of producing wine”, which is different in the various districts of the island, because of a marked diversification of climate from land to land, a century-old tradition of wine making, updated production techniques, experimentation and innovation. I wish you all a good read. Maurizio Priolo. A.D. 2013
9
Index 5 Acknowledgements 9 Prelude
47 Extreme Excursion
88-89 Ceuso
48 Average Precipitation
92-93 COS
10-13 Brief History of wine making in 49 Homogeneous Substrates Sicily 50 Area planted with vines 16-19 Florio, rise and decline of an 51 DO Zones empire 20-26 Notes on the soils of Sicily
96-97 Cummo 100-102 Donnafugata 104-105 Gambino 108-109 Graci
28-31 List of protected designations of Wineries origin 52-53 Abbazia Santa Anastasia
112-113 Poggio di Bortolone
32-37 Sicily in numbers
56-57 Alessandro Salvo
120-121 Scilio
38-40 Work on the study and testing of native Sicilian yeasts
60-61 Alessandro Di Camporeale
124-125 Gatti Estate
116-117 Quantico
42-43 Considerations
64-65 Winery of the Princes of Spada- 128-129 Enza La Fauci Estate fora 132-133 La Lumia Estate 68-69 Bonavita 136-137 Regaleali Estate
Cartography
72-73 Cambria
140-141 Val di Suro
44 Orography
76-77 Valdibella Winery
144-145 Vasari
45 The Fregoni Index
80-81 Barbera Winery
148-149 Vivera
46 Average Excursion
84-85 Lanzara Winery 7
51
Donna fugata Is an active company of great impact and elegance founded in Trapani in 1983 by the Rallo family, fervent promoter of the union of “art, wine, music and culture of Sicily.” Suggestive underground cellar, which dates back to 1851, carved out of tuff rock within the ancient farmhouse the family owns in the town of Marsala, their current strategic business center. The vineyards are in the fertile valley of the Belice, in Contessa Entellina, Sambuca di Sicilia and Pantelleria, the volcanic island in the Strait of Sicily where, centuries-old vineyards of Zibibbo grapes become the sublime passito “Ben Rye” son of the wind in Arabic. Donnafugata has always paid attention to the environment, social and cultural rights, it adheres to various projects including “Agriveltha” a program involved in monitoring the environment, the project “Innovation and Exploitation of Native Sicilian Vines”, the Literary Prize “Giuseppe Tomasi Lampedusa”, the archaeological program of the elimo site of Rocca di Entella and the microcredit “Donnafugata for the future”. A valuable production. www.donnafugata.it Info@donnafugata.it Via S.Lipari 18, Marsala 91025 Tel. 0923 722042
Altitude
on the ground with an excellent phosphorus-potassiumzinc supply.
The vineyards, located at Contessa Entellina are between 200-600 meters above sea level The vineyards of Pantelleria are located at an altitude in between 20 and 400 meters above sea level
Exposure
Land exposed on various fronts in Contessa Entellina, Sambuca and Pantelleria.
Geology of the land
Climate
The land of Contessa Entellina has a clayey texture with sub-alkaline reactions, rich in nutrients. Clayey soils of the hills. The soils of Pantelleria are composed of volcanic sand with sub-acid-neutral reaction, deep and fertile soil, terraced
Mild winters, little rainfall and hot, dry summers in Contessa Entellina. Mild winters, hot summers, little rainfall and strong winds in Pantelleria. The wind blows constantly on the island of Pantelleria. 100
Average annual rainfall
Grecanico, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Alicante, Nero d'Avola, Perricone, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Tannat. In Pantelleria it’s the Muscat of Alexandria known as “Zibibbo”.
In Contessa Entellina over the past 10 years values equal to 670 mm. In Pantelleria values are around 500 mm.
Planted hectares
Vine density
260 hectares of vineyards in Contessa Entellina, placed on seven districts, two of which in Sambuca di Sicilia. 68 hectares of vineyards in Pantelleria placed eleven districts.
Various planting patterns with a density of 4500-6000 vines per hectare in Contessa Entellina, from 2,500 to 3,600 plants per hectare in Pantelleria.
Conventional with minimal intervention in the field. Maximum reduction of plant protection treatments. Total respect for the environment through a careful environmental monitoring system.
Espalier with spurred cordon pruning in Contessa Entellina. ‘Pantesco’ low shrub cultivation in Pantelleria (the vines are placed in shallow holes to protect them from strong winds).
Training and pruning method
Crop type
Area of production
Harvest
South-western Sicily: Contessa Entellina estate and neighboring lands. South-western Sicily Pantelleria Island; districts: Khamma, Mulini, Mueggen, Ghirlanda, Serraglia, Gibbiuna, Baron, Bukkuram, Favarotta.
The harvest in Contessa Entellina opens every year the first ten days of August with the nighttime picking of Chardonnay. Manual harvest on the island of Pantelleria.
Weeding
Vines
Manual, mechanical
In Contessa Entellina and Sambuca di Sicilia both local and international varieties are planted: Insolia, Catarratto,
Organic.
Fertilizers 101
Peculiarities in the vinification and aging process
Vintages to remember 1997, 1999, 2001, 2007 Mille e una Notte. 1992, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2010 Ben Rye.
Fermentation at controlled temperature in steel and concrete. Aging in concrete and wood (barrels and tonneaux in French oak are used for top-quality wines). All choices are oriented to the maximum respect of the varietal characteristics of each wine. For the production of passito Zibibbo grapes are naturally dried, spread out on racks, for three to four weeks, after they are picked by hand and added to the fermenting must.
Type of yeast used Selected.
“The term ‘wine’ appeared for the very first time in Italy, in Sicily, on the lid of a terracotta goblet dating back to the 5th century. Found in Centuripe in the province of Enna”
Wines produced White, red, natural sweet wines.
Average annual production Aprox. 2,300,000 bottles.
Flag wine
Mille e una notte, Contessa Entellina DOP (Nero d'Avola). Ben Ryè, Passito di Pantelleria (Zibibbo).
First year
1995 Mille e una Notte. 1989 Ben Ryè. 102
“I want to drown my sorrows in wine, I ask wine to close my tired eyes, and fall into comforting sleep” Albio Tibullo ( 54 a.C. Circa – 19 a.C.)
“Wine is not only to drink, you can smell it, observe it, taste it, sip it, ... and talk about it “ Edoardo VII (1841-1910)
“Drink or get out!” Cicero (106-43 BC)
“Wine adds a smile to friendship and a sparkle to love� Edmondo de Amicis (1846 - 1908)
Wine prepares the hearts and makes them more ready for passion. Ovid (43 BC - 17 A.D.)
“A woman and a glass of wine meet every need, who doesn’t drink or kiss is worse than dead” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)