Adventurous Sicilian Whites
From the famed COS winery in Vittoria Sicily the Rami is a blend of Grecanico and Inzolia, macerated on skins for 7-10 days. It's an orange wine that drinks like it is supposed to be orange- it doesn't feel manipulated, overthought, or anywhere nearly as funky as some orange wines can get. Crisp, clean, orange peel, touch of tannin, honey, grapefruit, herbs. Try with roast chicken dishes, fish, or even roast pork and potatoes. Yum Yum Yum
why we love this wine: COS was one of the first wineries in Vittoria to promote biodynamic viticulture and minimal intervention winemaking. They are historic to say the least and many prominent wineries have followed in the path they forged. Their style is natural, yet clean, and despite minimal additives and use of Amphora for aging, their wines do not taste funky. Great winemaking featuring indigenous grapes.
$28 ($25 members)
For more than 500 years, the Caravaglio family has cultivated wine grapes on Salina and Lipari, establishing early on the traditions and practices that would be followed for generations. Winemaker Antonino Caravaglio’s ancestors were certainly among the first to partner with Venetian traders bearing rootstock from Greece, planting the original Malvasia delle Lipari.
Grapes on these wind-swept hills have always been cared for naturally, cleansed by the sea-salty air of the Mediterranean and protected by the island’s mineral soils, which also kept the phylloxera at bay. The grapes are farmed organically, harvested by hand and fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. White wines are aged in tank on fine lees for two to three months. Very little sulfur is added during the winemaking process, to ensure the grapes’ natural flavors are allowed to express themselves fully.
why we love this wine: This wine is unabashedly aromatic while maintaining salty savory notes. Orange blossom, apricot, preserved lemon peel, brine. It’s aromatic beyond the fruity floral aromas and has body and richness. It is organic, minimal sulfite additions, spontaneously fermented, and it comes from one of the coolest places in the world. The vines grow on what looks like pure volcanic ash (it’s more complex than that, but that’s what it looks like!). Yet another example of solid winemaking with indigenous varietals.
$28 ($25 members)
Giuseppe Russo has cultivated his family's vines since 2005 and has 15 hectares of organic viticulture on the North side of Etna around the town of Passopisciaro (northern slopes). He is a visionary in that he follows the traditions of the Volcano, growing in the classic Albarello style while making some adjustment to modern day vine training, which he characterizes as "modified" Albarello. He also is extremely methodic and vinifies each vineyard separately, blending his wines to find the perfect balance before bottling. Additionally, he has been bottling single cru (contrada) Etna wines long before it was en vogue and now holds a name as one of the top producers on the Volcano.
This Bianco comes from the San Lorenzo, Feudo, Calderara Sottana Contrade, with notes of citrus, crushed rock minerality.
CARRICANTE 75%, 25%: Catarratto, Inzolia, Grecanico, Minnella, Coda di Volpe
why we love this wine: Giuseppe’s tightrope walk between traditional and modern winemaking make his style totally his own, and you can certainly taste it in his wine. It’s truly an ethereal experience when you can taste grape variety, terroir, AND the winemaker’s anima (soul) in a wine. We should have themed this pack “Solid winemaking with indigenous grapes” because truly all of these wines present Sicilian viticulture at its finest.
$48 ($43 members)
Snag all three! Save a few $ and taste alongside our sweet Cittavino & Co. compare/contrast tasting notes.
