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Pioneers and renewal

Sicily · Noto for “Santa Cecilia”

Noto chosen for Nero d’Avola: Planeta sought a site for its flagship Nero d’Avola and chose Noto. Santa Cecilia, named after the family’s full name, Planeta di Santa Cecilia, is made solely from that grape under Noto DOC. It comes from the family’s Zuppardo and Agliastro vineyards.
Feeding the vineyard soils: Between the rows, beans, vetch and wildflowers form a cover crop. Planeta describes this as a way to add organic material and nitrogen while supporting the soil’s microfauna. The work gives a practical dimension to the estate’s choice of this Noto property among its Sicilian vineyards.
Fruit supported by dense tannins: Ripe sour cherry, wild blackberry, bitter orange and balsamic touches define Santa Cecilia’s aromatic profile. Dense tannins support its generous palate.

Historic estates and founders

Sicily

Regaleali, a lasting commitment to Nero d’Avola: With the 2021 vintage, “Regaleali Nero d’Avola” reached sixty-six harvests. This hillside red holds an enduring place at Tasca d’Almerita, which seeks a balance between the grape’s austerity and the fruit’s generosity.
Half in wood, half in tank: For the 2021, half the wine spends ten months in large casks and the other half in steel. This split maturation accompanies a dry red seeking to unite breadth and structure.

Pioneers and renewal

Sicily

Cerasuolo di Vittoria through two grapes: COS brings Nero d’Avola and Frappato together in Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico. The estate’s current wine combines 60% Nero d’Avola with 40% Frappato, using spontaneous fermentation on the skins and maturation in Slavonian oak followed by bottle.
The 2013: fruit, spice and freshness: The 2013 Classico offers black cherry, cinnamon and orange zest. Supple tannins and fresh acidity balance the red wine.
Three friends behind the initials: Cilia, Occhipinti and Strano founded COS in 1980. Cerasuolo di Vittoria became one of the defining expressions of their shared Sicilian project.

Essential references

Sicily · Vittoria

SP68 Rosso: the road and the first hectare: SP68 is the road beside Fossa di Lupo, where Arianna Occhipinti began with one hectare. Her SP68 Rosso blends Frappato and Nero d’Avola under Terre Siciliane IGT. It offers youthful freshness and a delicate palate.
Il Frappato: a more extended cellar route: Il Frappato is Vittoria’s Frappato on its own, also under Terre Siciliane IGT. The estate’s published method gives it twenty-five days with its skins and fourteen months in large Austrian oak casks; SP68 Rosso receives fifteen days of skin contact and seven months in concrete.
Arianna’s self-portrait: Arianna describes Il Frappato as the wine most like her. Its tangy, elegant profile has a sanguine nuance, while SP68 Rosso offers the fresh, delicate blend: two distinct expressions of the same home in Vittoria.

Pioneers and renewal

Sicily · Etna, Milo

Giuseppe places his faith in Carricante: Giuseppe Benanti wanted to show the potential of Carricante from Milo, Etna’s white grape. “Pietra Marina”, made solely from Carricante from the named site Rinazzo, embodies this ambition.
Time for a distinguished Etna white: This Etna Bianco Superiore rests for around thirty months in tank, then at least a year in bottle. This long maturation is part of “Pietra Marina”’s identity, even before it reaches the table.
Saline freshness: “Pietra Marina”, combines orange blossom and ripe apple. The dry, lively, saline palate extends into anise and almond.

Essential references

Sicily

“Ben Ryé”, son of the wind: The name of this Donnafugata cuvée evokes Pantelleria’s almost constant wind. On this island, Zibibbo produces a passito: the grapes dry to concentrate their juice before becoming a sweet wine.
Sweetness and a fresh breath: “Ben Ryé” 2023 offers raisin, apricot, candied orange, Mediterranean scrub and honey, with balsamic nuances. Its intense sweetness is balanced by a fresh, persistent finish.

Pioneers and renewal

Sicily

Marco seeks the fruit of Marsala: In 1985, Marco De Bartoli created “Vigna la Miccia”, a medium-dry Marsala Oro made from pure Grillo. Temperature-controlled vinification and barriques kept full limit oxidation to preserve the grape’s fruity, delicate nuances.
Grillo also follows another path: “Vecchio Samperi” is an unfortified wine matured using the perpetual system: small quantities of young wine join the older reserves. It has its own identity and does not carry Marsala DOC.
A more delicate Marsala: “Vigna la Miccia” for this description, emphasises fruit and delicacy in a medium-dry style.

Pioneers and renewal

Sicily

Nerello Mascalese from the northern slope: Pietradolce’s Etna Rosso is made entirely from Nerello Mascalese grown at Solicchiata, between 700 and 800 metres on Etna’s northern slope. Its sandy-loam soils contain abundant volcanic rock.
A brief stay in oak: The Etna Rosso spends three months in oak. Fruity and floral aromas lead into a broad, elegant palate, giving a clear first expression of the estate’s northern-slope wines.
A heritage of bush vines: Pietradolce also preserves pre-phylloxera vines trained as alberello, or small bushes. These very old vines are part of the estate’s heritage and supply other wines in its range.

Pioneers and renewal

Sicily

Two surviving plots: At Calderara Sottana, two small Nerello Mascalese plots survived phylloxera and grow on their own roots. In 2006, Marco de Grazia decided to vinify them separately: they became “Prephylloxera - La Vigna di Don Peppino”.
Named for the man who cared for them: Don Peppino is the grower who long tended these vines. The cuvée pays tribute to him; its 2021 vintage combines wildflowers, red fruit and spice, with concentration and balance.
Etna Rosso, another discovery: The blended Etna Rosso, is a distinct cuvée dominated by Nerello Mascalese. Fresh, fragrant and slender, it has a fine tannic grip.