Sicily – Baroque ‘n’ Roll - Part1

Part 1 – the background

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, is known as the cradle of Italian wine. Wine dates back here at least to the 8th century B.C. when the ancient Greeks first established their colonies and brought their winemaking skills with them.

Wine production is enormous, peaking at over 10 million hectolitres per year, the biggest of any Italian region, with white wine around two-thirds of the total. In the nineties this exceeded that of the whole of Australia!

Sicily’s wine reputation was founded on the much-traduced Marsala plus vast production of basic plonk, much of which still goes for distillation or ends up as grape concentrate. No wonder then that the Italian DOC and DOCG quality designations are relatively rare. Quality-wise, there is but one (new) DOCG and twenty largely obscure DOC’s. Today the IGT designation is most frequently used as this allows far more winemaking freedom.

Yet this beautiful island has all the ingredients to make very fine wine, and this potential is now becoming realised. Firstly, there’s a long growing season with low winter rainfall and intense summer heat. The island is almost all mountainous, so vineyards at higher altitudes enjoy cool evenings with relief from the blistering summer sun. There are plenty of hillsides with perfect aspects to obtain maximum exposure to sunlight and a variety of poor free-draining soils well suited for vines.

The upturn in quality began in the eighties and nineties. The new wave looked to quality rather than quantity to sell their wines and command higher prices and in doing so achieved startling results. Better vineyard sites, training systems and yield reduction techniques produce fewer but better quality grapes. Investment has poured in from producers based in other parts of Italy looking to expand. Consultants and flying winemakers arrived from top estates in both Italy and the new world and modern wineries have been built with the latest equipment and the inevitable introduction of French oak barriques.

Sicily, like many Italian regions, is also blessed with an abundance of native vine varieties. The Italians insist on referring to these as autochthonous and they are Sicily’s true glory. White grapes such as Inzolia, Catarrato, Grillo, Grecanico and Carricante plus the red Nero d’Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappucio, Frappato and Perricone can make fine and individual wines that also offer a genuine and unique sense of place which cannot be replicated elsewhere – in other words, a true taste of Sicily. Winemakers such as Planeta, Palari, Baglio Hopps, Tasca d’Almerita, Donnafugata, C.O.S., Gulfi and othersare making truly exceptional wines from these natives at all price points.

While these Sicilian producers have drawn on this patrimony for inspiration, they have also introduced international varieties too. Inevitably, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are planted, along with Viognier, Merlot, Syrah and even Pinot Noir. There are many superb examples that command, and frequently deserve, premium prices. These include Planeta’s Bordeaux-blend Burdese, Santa Anastasia’s Litra, Cusumano’s Merlot, and the Chardonnay’s from Cusumano, Tasca d’Almerita and Planeta. Syrah is particularly well suited to Sicily at a time when Syrah’s profile is rising worldwide. There are great examples from Rapitala, Planeta and Baglio Hopps, amongst others.

These international wines have garnered considerable acclaim, raising the profile of Sicilian wine so that it is today radically different to that of just twenty years ago. As part of Italy’s “new world” revolution, Sicily has shown it has the territorio, expertise and investment needed to shake off the old rustic image. Today the greatest Sicilian estates are making wines that rival their global counterparts from highly respected regions, for example the Napa and Barossa valleys.

Sicily is an ancient land with the evidence of conquest and civilisation visible at every turn, be it Greek, Roman, Norman, Arab, Spanish, English or Italian. The dramatic and fiercely beautiful landscape is dotted with towns that feature some of the finest examples of architecture throughout the ages, from the ancient Greek to the Baroque. Ornate warm stone is bathed in violent sunlight; narrow winding streets lead past churches offering redemption on every corner. Those towns perched on hilltops are the balconies of Sicily, with stupendous views of the countryside revealed at every turn.

It is inconceivable that this could ever be replaced with glass and concrete towers, those symbols of post-modernism. These are part of our inexorable globalisation that risks everything becoming the same. Is it then not the same with wine? Sicily’s long traditions, heritage and identity risk being sacrificed on the altar of Internationalism. To paraphrase Agent Smith in The Matrix, “do you taste that Mr. Anderson? That is the taste of inevitability”.

That Sicily is being recognised for quality is a long overdue achievement. However, the international varieties have frequently hogged the limelight when compared with their native brethren. Exploring Sicily during summer 2006 left an impression that, in wine terms, Sicily is becoming bipolar.

Hence this article seeks to redress the balance and so reviews 40 wines made with Sicily’s native grapes. Grouped below by producer, these represent some of the very best Sicilian wines, symbols of diversity offering a sense of place and a truly Sicilian character. Even 40 wines just scratch the surface of what is becoming available! International grapes are included here only if blended together with native grapes. Concentrating on white and red wines, the other Sicilian native specialities - delicious dessert wines and Marsala itself - will have wait for another time.

These wines came from various sources - bottles bought from UK merchants and Sicilian exporter Clapp throughout the year supplemented those sampled in Sicily during summer 2006. Andy Leslie, Wine Alchemy’s food correspondent, is also a lover of these wines and so I’ve included his views too. The Italian wine guide, Gambero Rosso also gives ratings (one, two or three glasses) and these are included where applicable with guide prices quoted.

Sicily – it’s the new Baroque “n” Roll.

 

Read Part 2 here