Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, sitting in between Italy and Africa on the 38th parallel. If one drew a line directly east from the Napa Valley it would cross through the city of Palermo, Sicily\u2019s capital. In terms of tonnage, Sicily is the second largest wine region in Italy (behind Puglia, and yes, larger than Tuscany and Piedmont). However, until the mid 1990s it was known almost exclusively for the sweet, fortified Marsala wines produced there and bulk wine was the industry\u2019s main commodity.<\/p>\n
But in the past 30 years, Sicily has become a \u201chot\u201d wine region, both literally and figuratively as wineries like Donnafugata, Planeta, Cusamano and yes, Tasca d\u2019Almerita, reimagined Sicilian wines focusing on quality and often on the heritage grapes and terroir of the region. And what terroir it is, with a patchwork of elevations and soils ranging from clay to limestone to the volcanic residue of its most iconic feature, Mount Etna, that bake in the Mediterranean sun.<\/p>\n
The Tasca d\u2019Almerita wines I tried included two whites and two reds, all made from grapes indigenous to the island. Three of the four prominently featured the name of the grapes on the label, Grillo, Catarratto and Perricone.<\/p>\n
The 2018 Regaleali Grillo-Cavallo delle Fate Sicilia DOC was made from 100% Grillo (pronounced Gree-lo), an ancient variety that has been the lead grape in Marsala wines. This wine was dry, concentrated, complex, clean and crisp, reflecting its fermentation and four months of aging in stainless steel tanks. It was a perfect summer sipper that could easily replace a pinot grigio at the table. And a 2018 Regaleali \u201cAntisa\u201d Catarratto Sicilia DOC was plush, filled with aromas of tropical fruits and lemon. Uniquely, this wine was sourced from high-mountain vineyards that sky to 3,000 feet in elevation. The grapes are also harvested late, even after some red grapes, which is unusual.<\/p>\n
The first red wine was a 2017 Regaleali Perricone made from another ancient grape that I had never tasted before. It was a bigger wine than I had expected and it served as a satisfying companion to a sausage pasta dish with spicy red tomato sauce that a friend had made from a family recipe she discovered in southern Italy. Red and dark fruits accentuated a wine that was excitingly unique.<\/p>\n
Finally, a 2016 Regaleali Lam\u00f9ri Sicilia DOC Nero d\u2019Avola was a little bit more familiar as I have had other iterations of the wine from other producers. Some say this full-bodied red wine is a bit like syrah. I agree, as there is a similar spice component. But there also is an earthiness to the wine that helped me imagine the Sicilian hills from which it came.<\/p>\n
The Tasca d\u2019Almerita family has committed the company to the creation of a lifestyle-oriented brand that is concentrated on both sustainability in the vineyards and the creation of a series of lodges and hotels on Sicily and the surrounding islands. Perhaps one day, when this is all over and my wings are returned, I shall visit the vineyards in the sea for real.<\/p>\n
One can always dream.<\/p>\n
via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Perhaps the most difficult part of our current situation is that we have had our traveling wings clipped. We are grounded. The last time I set foot in a vineyard was on an impeccable winter\u2019s day in January during a California road trip to visit with Victor Gallegos, winemaker at SeaSmoke in the Sta. Rita […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2458718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-17 10:09:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458718\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n