Beautiful wines from the Mediterranean's biggest island

Yes, I'm writing about Sicily and its wines. It's difficult to describe this island's wonders in only one post and I won't try. What made me write about this island's beautiful gems is two recent tastings which both come from one of my favourite producers, Benanti.

Geographically Sicily is positioned next to the toe of Italy's boot and its total area is 25,708 km² . Temperature wise it can reach average highs of 38°C in August and lows of 10°C in January and February. September to April are the rainy months with October producing around 98mm. On This island one can find several mountain ranges and an active volcano, Etna reaching slightly over 10,900ft. Historically the island of Sicily was influenced by a lot of different cultures, from the Greeks and the Romans to the Arabs, and also forming part of the Kingdom of Sicily in the Middle Ages.

Sicily's wine reputation is now at a high after some very good work from various producers, such as Planeta, Tasca d'Almerita, Benanti and several others who have researched the potential of the Sicilian terroir. The reputation of Sicilian wines is no longer as 'big full-bodied wine' used for blending with the milder wines to the North.

Initially the grape to attract attention to Sicily's wines was Nero d'Avola (at times compared to Shiraz with its plum, peppery aromas), however if one is to discover What this island has to offer I would suggest to dig deeper to find such wines as Etna DOC, Contessa Entellina DOC, Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG amongst others not to forget the plethora of sweet wines amongst which Marsala DOC, Moscato DOC and Passito DOC of Pantelleria and Malvasia delle Lipari DOC.

On a personal note I'm discovering wines containing the Nerello Mascalese or Nerello Cappuccio. One such wine is Etna Rosso DOC containing a minimum of 80% Nerello Mascalese and up to 20% Nerello Mantellato (aka Cappuccio) with a maximum of 10% of local grapes. 

Today's wines  are;

SERRA DELLA CONTESSA, Etna Rosso DOC 2003 .. Benanti

Serra della Contessa and Lamoremio

Appearance; Luminous, Red ruby and heavy viscosity

Nose; Aromatic, complex, wild berries and spice (pepper??) with hints of wood and incense 

Palate; Dry, elegant with present acidity and light dominance of tannins

I would suggest to decant this wine an hour before enjoying. Not so much for the wine being too big however it did open up whilst we were drinking it making it more complex and enjoyable to all those present. I was really pleased on the nose. Every time you get a whiff of the aroma you'll want to smell it more to smell the subtle notes of wood and incense. 

I would classify this wine as a full bodied wine however do not expect it to be heavy as it is quite elegant . It will be a joy to all those who like a well made wine that punches above the reputation of the grapes its made of. I warmly recommend this wine.

****+

Found in Malta around 30 euro but available in Catania around 20 euro. I graded this wine four plus with regards to its Catania price.

Disclaimer; Please be aware that tasting wine is a very subjective matter and the fact that i do like or not any wine does not make that an absolute. What I would like to deliver in my blogs is that trying different wines from different (and at times unthinkable) places might lead you to fantastic discoveries.

4. Love wine? .. start a wine group

Starting a wine group can be really easy. All you need is a couple of friends (who like wine) and subject for the wine to taste. Thereon it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be and the idea can be tweaked every time you meet. 

Our group started one fine day when I asked a couple of friends if they were interested in meeting up, each couple producing a wine defined by a particular theme. (I remember our first theme was "Cabernet Sauvignon around the world") We decided to keep the wines secret by wrapping them to disguise the bottle shape and label, and only reveal the wines after we had tasted them. One of the guys offered his place to meet and his wife was so kind to prepare nibbles and lovely sweets (Stefania has these delicious sweets available on internet click here.) All this was followed by a marking sheet where we rated the wines according to how much we liked the wines.

This was our first template. From there we moved on (mainly we removed the academic part) however now it is a nice occasion for meeting friends and sharing our wine experience. This enables us to try wines that the individual couples would never have picked up from the shelf due to personal preferences, or lack of interest.

Corks of  "wines from weird places" session

The way this group in organised is unlimited and the wines tried as varied or specific as you want. This brings me to the last tasting where the topic was "wines from weird places". The whole aim was to try wines from places not readily available and this resulted in a white from the island of Sardinia, and reds from Switzerland, India and Israel. Not everybody liked all the wines equally and some wines might not have been impressive, but that is exactly the whole idea, to try and enjoy different wines.

Here is a wine tried in one of the sessions.

Marques de Riscal Rueda (DO) 2009

I must admit that I liked this wine from the first moment I tasted it. I would describe it as the perfect summer wine. It is a crispy and fruity wine that can tolerate food but at the same time can be enjoyed as an aperitif.


Appearance; Pale, clear, lively pale straw with silver tints and medium viscosity.


Nose; Quite aromatic, simple and fully developed with tropical fruit and flowers come to mind such as peaches and violets.


Palate; Dry wine with a nice crispy acidity. Well balanced wine with medium finish. Ripe and vegetal flavour taste with medium alcohol. (slight bitter ending typical of type.. don't let this put you off)


On a personal note, I would try and find the youngest vintage for consumption. Tried this wine after storing in the refrigerator for a day and I thought that it was already missing something. This wine does not need to open up (like most white wines) so it is perfectly fine to open the bottle before serving. It goes well as an aperitif for those who like their wines full. Also perfect with sea food, pasta and white meats. I think this wine is tasty enough to hold its own against heavier dishes especially if you feel like a white wine.  This is a wine to be served quite cold (suggested serving temperature is 8-10°C) I would describe it as a summer charmer.


It is easily found in wine shops across Malta around 6 euro which makes it a very good buy.

***+

Technical specs

Grape variety;

85%           Verdejo  

15%           Viura

Alcoholic strength   12.5°

Total acidity              5.4

pH                              3.30

3. Points, marks, stars .. should I?

Hi, today I will sidetrack to present the point/star system that I decided to use on this blog. First of all I do not want this blog to be all about a point system, however I think that most find a rating system to be helpful to understand better how much the person who tasted the wine (in this blog that's moi) liked the wine.

For now it is a very simple system ;
***       I like this wine (commercial/good)
****    This is a very nice wine indeed (very nicely crafted)
*****  WOW, I think I fell in love (work of a genius )

Possibly its a bit simplistic since obviously price is a factor, however I would not like to give this star rating too much importance. All three categories have a place on my table and obviously price would be a factor then.


Sneak Peak of next blogs , Gaja Promis 2005 and  Corvo Glicine Red/White

2. So how was the BBQ ?

As promised in the introduction, I am blogging the BBQ (or better still the wine), however let me start from the beginning. Knowing that this time I was going to write about the wine served,  I felt the "pressure" of what wine to choose. This is a dilemma that most of us have, "What wine will I serve to match the food?", "Will the guests enjoy the wine chosen?" "Red or White?". What should be a pleasant experience of eating and drinking with friends is already marred by some stressful decision.

Seeing me hassle around, my wife gave me a reality check by reminding me that it does not really matter what's best, as long as the wine is enjoyed by both the guests and us (She had already chosen what wine we were to open that evening). I must say that in a wide sense I fully agree with her statement. I would not suggest to serve a full bodied claret with seafood however wines can be quite versatile and their choice should depend on enjoyment rather than statistics.

The menu was quite varied, from spicy Greek olives to Spanish chorizo to marinated chicken on BBQ.  The chosen wine was a

Pinot Noir (Marlborough) 2006 Cellar Selection VILLA MARIA (NZ)

For all the Old World aficionados, this will be a shock. Its New World and screw cap!!! OK OK .. take a deep breath and continue reading. (For those who thrive on stats I will post those at the end.)

The wine presented itself well in the glass from the beginning. No need for decanting. In the glass it is clear and lively, dense, cherry/ruby red with negligible gradient towards the rim with heavy viscosity.

On the nose it is aromatic, complex, fully developed. Main aromas would be red and black berries and spice (reminding me of winter smells). Oak is also present but well integrated as are the tannins.

On the palate it was quite smooth with a nice long finish. It is mouth-filling, complex and spicy. Acidity was fresh and tannins well kept in check.

In layman's terms, it a nice wine that can be matched to tasty food and at the same time it is very smooth and pleasant however not easily overpowered. I would recommend this wine as it is versatile and will please most palates. It is not overwhelming to those who prefer their wines to be elegant however it will also please those who love forward fruity wines.

How should this wine be served?
Should this wine be opened/decanted before? I tasted this wine soon after I opened it and there was little to no change in the aroma/palate compared to up to 3 hours later. Being so consistent from the start my suggestion would be that there is no need to opening the wine before so it is fine to open it just before guests start to arrive. A serving temperature of around 16°C is fine.


Personally I try tasting the actual wine (privately) before serving it to make sure I'm not serving a faulty wine. This might be an even more important if the wine is quite old and/or has been stored in a less than ideal place or just bought from a store where ideal temperature control, light and vibrations among other things are not a priority.


Hope you'll enjoy this wine as much as I did.


(Please not that even if I would have tried these wines personally, most of the suggestions would be a personal preference and by no means an absolute.)

**** Four Stars

Readily available in Malta

Cost around 15 Euro

As promised here are some stats;

100% Pinot Noir
14% alcohol
pH 3.59
Total acidity 5.99
Residual Sugar NIL
Maturation in French barriques


That is all for today


S

1. Introduction

Hi, this is my first post ever so I thought I would start by introducing myself. My name is Sandro Mizzi from Malta and I'm 33. My love of wine started a long time ago, when my sister went to Lyon (France) on a scholarship. Visiting her opened whole new world of different wines. I must say my first love was a Saint Joseph AOC. I do not recall the vintage or the producer but what I remember is that my senses told me " WOW, what's this? why did it take us so long to taste such a beauty?" From there on I used to make it a point that whenever I visit my sister, I taste something different. 


Today that love of wine is still on (more than ever) and I have tried to inform myself more through reading books, magazines and currently am doing a course in wine appreciation. However the best way to learn is to indulge your senses in actually trying different wines, different styles. Get out of your comfort zone of always drinking the same thing and try something else (it helps if you have someone to help you widen your horizon). Don't be afraid to swirl your wine in the glass and smell it before actually tasting. Will friends call you a snob? they don't know what they are missing.


Through these posts I will try to post different wine experiences. Tonight my wife and I are organizing a BBQ but more about that and the wines next time :)


S