Nicosia winery has a long and rich family wine making tradition, they have a reverence for rural customs, but also a sharp eye for the contemporary and the future. Their commitment to renewal and creativity brought enologist Maria Carella to Nicosia 8 years ago. Her youthful energy along with others like agronomist Alessandro Lo Genco have much to do with the fine quality and delightful enjoyment we find in Nicosia’s wines. Of course the great vines and fabulous Sicilian soil and climate do add much too.
We enjoyed these wines at a unique tasting a few weeks ago, Vino e Cioccolato, Now that is a Beautiful Pairing, and hope to see them again soon.
In an article written by Paolo Tich we learned Maria’s winemaking regimen is fairly conventional, using commercial yeasts and the standard processes for modern commercial winemaking, albeit with a bias towards older oak and steel tanks in the aging process. Etna Wines are Smoking Hot But also that “In terms of innovation, as well as growing Syrah, Pinot Nero and some Viognier near Palermo, Nicosia is trialling two sparkling wines made in the classic method (i.e. the same way as Champagne) one with Carricante and one with Nerello Mascalese. White-coated oenologist Maria Carella is also working on ageing some Etna wines, both white and red, in oak.” We tasted the sparkling Carricante and it is quite good.
Vinography reports more about Nicosia, did you ever know “what might Sicily have to do with Bordeaux in the 19th Century? Simple. Far more bottles of "Bordeaux" were being sold than could be produced in the region in the late 19th Century. So the wine had to come from somewhere.” And one of those somewheres was the slopes of Etna where Nicosia makes it’s home Cantine Nicosia, Sicily: Current Releases
Wine oh Wine, never ceases to surprise and intrigue.
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