Wine with Leslie: Sensational sips from Sicily and Southern Italy
Vineyards in the mountains around Sicily. Pic: iStock
This week I have thoughts of Sicily and Southern Italy, mainly as I’ve been reading the last Inspector Montalbano novel by Andrea Camillera.Â
The TV series ran for fifteen seasons over twenty years and only finished in 2021 when the last novel was released following the death of the author.
BBC4 regularly shows episodes of the TV series and they are a joy to watch thanks to Luca Zingaretti’s humane and sane policeman and all the brilliant (less sane) character actors each episode is stuffed with.Â
Sicilian food features prominently and is of course always served with a bottle of wine — white more than red I have noticed thanks to Montalbano’s love of the local seafood.
Sicily has been an important vine growing region for almost three millennia which is understandable given the ideal growing conditions with abundant sunshine and light rainfall.Â
Mildew is rarely a problem here and organic growing is quite common even if not all wines are certified.Â
Sicily did have a quality problem in the 1990s due to over-cropping but this has been mostly fixed and these days I find it one of the most reliable regions of Italy.
Wines this week are mostly from Sicily with a couple of wines from Puglia and Basilicata that are equally interesting.Â
I feature the Mandrarossa Co-Op which would be a couple of hours' drive from Camillera/Montalbano’s home town of Porto Empedocle on the western coast of Sicily.
The Mandrarossa Co-Op has over 2,000 growers, many with just a few hectares under vine and there is an incentive to produce quality over quantity (many co-ops do the opposite).Â
I have featured their Grillo before but not their Etna Rosso.Â
The vineyards of Etna are not easy to maintain given the slopes and the altitude and there are no bargains from this region but the wines are always hugely interesting thanks to the low yields, high-quality Nerello Mascalese grapes and dedicated winemaking — you need to be dedicated to farm there.
Also this week I have included one of my favourite southern whites — Pipoli 'Fiano-Greco', and my favourite under €15 Italian red — I Muri Primitivo.Â
We drank a bottle earlier this week with some pizza from my (relatively new) wood-burning Ooni pizza oven which I also recommend. Saluti!
This is the perfect wine for pasta ragú, perhaps with some Italian sausage mixed in with the beef. Ripe blackberry aromas with plums and ripe berries, juicy darker fruits on the palate including dark cherry and baked plums — savoury and ripe with good concentration for the price.
Nero D’Avola is Sicily’s best-known red grape and is always worth trying. This is from organic grapes and has brisk cherry and red fruits on the nose, supple and juicy blackberries on the palate with good weight and ripe fruit flavours balanced by acidity.
Grillo is really only found in Sicily and was once a workhorse grape used for blending and for Marsala it is now being treated more seriously and makes a very drinkable textured white wine. This has lemon oil and flower aromas with a touch of tropical fruits, fleshy and fruity on the palate with texture and balancing citrus freshness.
Grillo has become one of my go-to wines in restaurants as I find its combination of soft floral fruits and balancing freshness a perfect match for seafood, pasta, white meats and many other dishes. This has a white peach aroma with a touch of lemon-curd and pear, supple and mouth-filling with texture and character.
Also from the Mandrarossa Co-Op and a rather fascinating wine given its combination of red fruits and spices with noticeable volcanic minerality. From 100% Nerello Mascalese with blackberry, red currants and dried fruit aromas (prunes, figs), supple and taut on the palate with warm ripe fruits interspersed with allspice and earth tones and fine-grained acidity.
A blend of two of Italy’s best white grapes — Greco (c.f. Greco di Tufo) and Fiano (Sicily and throughout the South). From Basilicata between the heel of Puglia and the toe of Calabria - acacia flowers and papaya with peaches and mirabelle plums, fruity and almost lush on the palate but balanced by zingy citrus freshness.
RÃRá is a new Irish lager that only came across my radar in recent weeks and is still making its way around the country. Brewed at Larkins Brewery in Wicklow you will find it in retail and in pubs in North Wicklow and South Co. Dublin plus some independents. Four packs sell for €8.50 on their website.
Brewed from Irish malt this has lively citrus and noble hop aromas, crisp and fruity on the palate with sweet pear fruits and light bitter herbal notes on the finish. RÃrá is a straightforward lager with little pretensions but I liked its honesty and easy-drinking style.
