by Agostino Berti » Sun Apr 26, 2009 10:06 am
"Smells like a Starbucks Frapuccino" doesn't sound too flattering, lol.
It's a shame most people know Cerasuolo di Vittoria only through Planeta or some other big concerns.
It can actually be a fantastic wine if made seriously. I find that the 40% Frappato blended in with the Nero D'Avola makes a really nice marriage making a sturdy, ripe, balanced wine which has a wonderful floreality to it. There's a funness to the wine that I really enjoy.
One producer I discovered who is pretty cheap and good is Giordano Calo' - or Calo' Giordano with the last name first as the Italians frustratingly do. He has a website.
What is strange is that Italy has a lot of D.O.C.G. wines - the highest designation for Italian wines, above the lower, but still "quality controlled" D.O.C.. Cerasuolo di Vittoria, only in 2005, became the first D.O.C.G. in Sicily. Not only does it seem kind of late, there are 36 already in the rest of Italy, but you would think some other better known area there would have "won" this distinction first.
Anyways, I like the stuff. Too bad I had to visit Sicily to find some that wasn't made by Planeta or Cos. Luckily, Giordano, who I met in person at Vinitaly and is a pleasant old fox, sent me some up to Milan by courier from his headquarters in Tuscany for a very reasonable rate.
I am preparing to post a TN that includes an older Cerasuolo di V. which had aged quite well. So look out for it.
(too bad nobody cares for this practically unknown wine, but I post nonetheless!)
Cheers, Ago
“Seekers of gold dig up much earth and find little.”
― Heraclitus
