NICHE NICHE TAKES THE ITALIAN ISLANDS SARDINIA AND SICILY
The Wines…
Feudo Montoni Grillo della Timpa 2019 served with Fluke Crudo with Fennel Confit, Sorento Lemon, and Coriander
Since 1469, Feudi Montoni has been making high quality and delicious wines in Sicily - the current family that owns the estate purchased it in the late 1800s and the third generation of the family still produces the wines. They focus on single vineyard bottlings from the best grapes growing in that Cru. Certified organic, sowing beans and peas into the vineyards instead of fertilization, and doing all labor by hand, the quality of the grapes shines through from Feudo Montoni.
This bottling is from the ‘Timpa’ vineyard near Cammarata: a high elevation, ancient city once home to the noble families of Sicily. The word ‘Timpa’ means strong slope which is completely applicable to this vineyard as the slope often exceeds a 70% grade! The vineyard is predominantly sandy soil and is about 700m or 2300ft above sea level facing east. The vines here are around 30 years old and were grafted by hand onto wild plants already growing in the area - something the original owners of the estate likely also did. This bottling is 100% Grillo - a grape famous for making Marsala, the Sicilian fortified wine and is often made into a single variety bottling or blended.
Region: Sicily
Grape: 100% Grillo
The Wine: hand harvested, 30 year old vines, fermented in concrete, aged in concrete for 6 months sur lie with batonnage
Graci, Etna Bianco 2018 served with Vitello Tonatto, Baby Arugula, Radicchio, and Puntarelle Salad
Originally an investment banker in Milan, Alberto Graci moved back to Sicily after his Grandfather’s death in 2004. His grandfather made wine in Sicily for many years and Alberto was inspired to make wine himself, but in a quality-focused manner instead of the old way of focusing on quality. To do this, Alberto sold his grandfather’s land in the central area of Sicily and bought his current main property on the northeast part of Mount Etna - about 18ha of land under vine in Passopisciaro. His Etna Bianco is made from 70% Carricante and 30% Catarratto - each grape planted to only 1.5ha and 1ha respectively. All his vineyards are 1800ft to about 3300ft in elevation and are often also filled with olives and apple trees as well as lots of other green vegetation - which shows his anti-herbicide mindset. Fermentation for the Bianco is done in concrete vats with 6 months of aging in concrete before bottling.
Region: Sicily (Mt. Etna)
Grape: 70% Carricante, 30% Catarratto
The Wine: Hand harvested, fermentation in concrete, aging for 6 months in concrete.
Benanti, Contrada Monte Serra 2016 served Whole roasted Branzino, Piperade and Braised Escarole
100% Nerello Mascalese from a recently planted (12 year old vines) portion of the Contrada Monte Serra monopole right outside the Benanti winery. The vineyard is located on an ancient volcanic cone on Mount Etna and the soil consists of pyroclastic debris from the volcano spread during an ancient period of activity. This makes the soil well-draining and forces the vines to search very deep for water.
The young vine section of this vineyard is located directly below the 100 year old+ prephylloxera vines that Benanti bottles into their Serra Della Contessa wine. All the vines are bush trained and therefore are very compact and low to the ground.
Benanti is a storied producer with some of the top holdings on Mount Etna as they have been making wine in the area since the end of the 1800s. In the 1980s, Giuseppe Benanti decided to bottle the wines under the Benanti name. They were the first winery with a presence on every slope of the Etna DOC - the winery continues to make benchmark wines of the region and is currently run by the two sons of Giuseppe.
Region: Sicily (Mt. Etna)
Grape: 100% Nerello Mascalese
The Wine: soft press, 20 day maceration, 12 months in French tonneaux, then stainless until bottling. Bottle aged for 6 months before release
Lemon Olive Oil cake
Contini, Vernaccia di Oristano 2014
Vernaccia di Oristano is a DOC wine made on the island of Sardinia and is made from the local Vernaccia di Oristano variety (not the same as the mainland Vernaccia grape!)
The Contini family estates owns about 80 hectares in Sardinia split between the Sinis peninsula, the Tirso Valley and the slopes of Mount Arci. While owning some of their own vineyards, many are owned and cultivated by long-time collaborating farmers to provide fruit. In the Sinis territory and the Tirso Valley, the Contini family manages about 40 hectares total of vineyards - the rest is located along Mount Arci. The vineyards see light winters and very hot but windy summers. The vineyards are in a microclimate that makes these lands ideal for Vernaccia. The soil is mainly gravel and clay with silt and sand sediments.
Vernaccia grows extremely close to sea level here and the vines are mainly bush-trained and therefore very low to the ground. Vernaccia di Oristano is traditionally done in a sherry-esque style with the barrel (oak and chestnut) being left with about ‘two fists’ of space above the wine to encourage flor, a living yeast cap, to develop. Contini ages the wines under flor for at least 4 years before releasing. They consider their Vernaccia di Oristano a flagship wine.
Region: Sardinia
Grape: 100% Vernaccia di Oristano
The Wine: Aged under floor for 4 years in oak and chestnut barrels
