The western side of the Mediterranean's largest island, Sicily, is profoundly beautiful. At the same time, it is rustic, industrial, and mysterious. The imposing slopes of the Mt. Etna volcano fall down to villages scattered along the pristine coastline.
After my flight, I found myself in the seaside town of Catania, just as the daily fish market was coming to an end. I feasted on stuffed sardines and squid ink pasta. Later as I drove up the winding roads of the Etna, I wasn't sure which was blacker: the lava soils dominating the landscape or the squid ink pasta...
The reason for my visit to Sicily was to visit a new winery on Mt. Etna. A well known Tuscan producer had bought a property and was replanting the abandoned terraced vineyards and restoring the old, decrepit winery. (And he isn't the only one investing in Sicily these days.)
Andrea Franchetti isn't just betting on Sicily, he believes resolutely in the potential for quality in Sicilian wines. He believes that like the Sicilians themselves, with their diverse backgrounds and their passionate outlook on life, that his Sicilian wines have soul. He blieves so strongly in it, in fact, that he flies to Sicily nearly weekly to check on the vines and the wines.
Franchetti's property in Sicily is called Passopisciaro, named after they tiny village it is near.
Passopisciaro translates roughly to "the path of the fish seller" and when one stands on the slopes of Mt. Etna near the winery, one can imagine the daily fish seller making his way up from the sea to sell his fresh catch.
The red wine is made from the local grape, Nerello, blended with up to 10% Petit Verdot to give it Bordeaux-quality structure. Although the vineyards are young, the wine shows great depth and intensity. This is a bold, but bright wine with dark red fruit flavors, medium acidity, and balanced oak.
The production is very small, and tiny quantities are imported into the USA, but if you love Italy, or even if you just love red wine, Passopisciaro is one to keep in mind for the future.
Or better yet, if you travel to Sicily, look for it on restaurant wine lists. Not surprisingly, they want to keep it all for themselves.
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