Every Sunday, with a little more of an educational edge, I explore specific appellations or sub-regions, taking you along for the ride. If you’ve learned about or traveled to these regions in the past, this will be an opportunity for you to brush up on some fading facts and if it’s uncharted territory, why not learn something new? If you’re already an expert or you call this region home, then feel free to comment and share your experiences with everyone.

Because of obvious reasons, this week’s post may be on the brief side. You can find past Sunday School posts here.

Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG

Cerasuolo di Vittoria (partial pronunciation) is Sicily’s only DOCG designated region, the theoretical top rung in the Italian wine quality ladder. To qualify for the status, the wine must be made from two native Sicilian grapes, Frappato and Nero d’Avola (50-70% Nero d’Avola, with the remainder being made up with Frappato). The vineyard area surrounds the town of Vittoria in the southeast quadrant of Sicily.

The wines are known for being a vibrant cherry red colour, light and fruity (thanks to limited skin contact with the juice) with earthy or herbaceous characters. The often dazzling acidity makes these wines great for food pairing. All the examples I’ve tasted so far show a degree of freshness, elegance and restraint, contradicting Sicily’s warm and dry climate.

I think it’s fair to say that I have a crush on Arianna Occhipinti’s wines, which started with my first sip of her blend called SP68. The twenty-seven-year-old winemaker owns 5 hectares of Nero d’Avola and Frappato grapes near Vittoria and is the niece of Giusto Occhipinti - the “O” in another well respected Vittoria based winery, COS. Arianna’s a fan of Nicolas Joly, farming her grapes biodynamically, while in the cellar, she ferments and ages her grapes in large inert oak casks using native yeast. She bottles her wines with minimal sulphur.

Occhipinti 07 Il Frappato - Sicilia IGT

This wine is made from 100% Frappato grapes, which restricts it by law from being labeled as Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, one reason for using the very broad “Sicilia IGT” classification.

The initial whiff was very Pinot Noir like. It started out quite tight with a tough tannic finish, and definitely benefited from a good decanting. The aromas on the nose are fresh and fruity with dark cherry and strawberry coupled with an underlying dried herb character. The red fruits are carried through on the soft textured palate, accompanied by cranberry and spice. The dry finish ends with vibrant acidity and some tight and tough tannins. It truly works wonderfully with food - we had it with a heavily garlic-ed sirloin roast on Christmas day and it matched nicely. Give me any combination of pasta, tomatoes and red meat, and this should pair perfectly.

This is serious Frappato, and while I did enjoy it, I also think that the $42 I paid for it in the US is high. I urge people to try Arianna’s Nero d’Avola & Frappato blend called SP68 which is great value at $25 (see my brief notes here).

COS is another producer to look for from this part of Sicily, and one I would love to explore further myself. I’ve tried their basic Cerasuolo di Vittoria (tasting notes) but they have many labels, including an amphora fermented blend called Pithos. Besides COS and Occhipinti, Gulfi and Planeta are two other producers who garnish attention for their Cerasuolo di Vittoria wines.

As always, please feel free to contribute any information, experience or tasting notes that you feel are relevant and check back next Sunday.

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