Ancient elixir, ritual anointment, symbol of peace, gift from Athena to the Greeks, the olive has been an integral part of life in the eastern Mediterranean since the first stirrings of civilization. In many ways, olive oil is one of the most important agricultural products of Europe and most wineries devote considerable acreage to the beloved olive tree for their own personal use and many for export.
So it is no wonder that one of our favorite Sicilian winemakers, Marco de Grazia of Tenuta Delle Terre Nere, produces an exceptional olive oil that we are very excited to have in the store. Marco's estate occupies prime real estate on the slopes of the famed Mount Etna, the still active volcano producing some of Sicily's most extraordinary wines that we had the privilege of visiting in 2009. The estates has 1,500 trees, many which are centuries old, that are all farmed and cared for organically. Lovingly tended, the olives are hand harvested, cold pressed that same day, with the luscious green/gold oil bottled unfiltered. The volcanic soils give it an almost sweetness, with elegant, spicy pepper notes; pure quality flows from the bottle.
We had the pleasure of Marco's company in the shop a few years ago for an intimate, seated tasting of his wines as well as a few others he is importing. Soft spoken, loquacious and extremely passionate about the region, it was wonderful to hear about his approach to wine making on the Etna, to taste the wines with him and hear his stories about what makes this reason so special and one of the most exciting wine producing regions in the world today. His approach to wine is one of minimal intervention, using certified organic practices, and an almost indiscernible use of oak, allowing the expression of the true character of the wine. In tasting his olive oil, it is obvious that he applies this same careful, thoughtful approach to its production as well.
Olive oil is a daily staple in our home. We use it liberally and as often as we can, often finding excuses to design a dish around it. Having met Marco and visited the wild world of the Etna, this oil is extremely special to us. We have it now, it probably won't be here for long, so if you have an appreciation for this ancient culinary delight, representing generations of farming and centuries of history made by people who truly care, come see us.
I've written a lot over the past year about Frank Cornelissen, a very controversial producer from the Etna region of Siciliy. I began researching him while working with Cynthia Nicholson of The Farmhouse Table on our wine and culinary tour of Sicily last year and have been enthralled with him and his wines ever since. Luckily our friend Matt Lirette, one of our favorite local wholesalers, has shared my interest in the region and his portfolio currently offers the largest selection of Etna producers available in Louisiana.
It is difficult to describe these wines to someone who has never tasted them. Frank takes the terms "natural" and "non intervention" to a level that would frighten most producers and consumers. He feels that anytime you add something to the process, be it herbicides, oak, sulfites, you take something away from the wine. Which is why Frank avoids all possible interventions including any treatments, whether chemical, organic, or biodynamic, to keep the process in tune with nature as it was done thousands of years ago. From his vineyard practices to non-temperature controlled fermentation in plastic vats to the cellaring in clay amphorae buried into the volcanic soils of the Etna, you can't truly appreciate Frank's "hands off" approach until you've witnessed it yourself. For my full article about our visit with Frank on the Etna, you can go to my post on The Madman of Etna.
On to the Contadino 6 (meaning 6th vintage), a wine that originally was never meant to be bottled. But a vat containing the musts of grapes and stems from both his red and white wines of his different bottlings was mistakenly tasted by a group of journalist and has gone on to be one of his most popular wines. It's a field blend of mostly Nerello Mascalese but also with white varietals, Carricante, Dorato, Grecanico. The grapes, twigs and leaves are all allowed to co-mingle to create an incredible cauldron of dark orange/pink liquid that teems with tobacco, cumin, cinnamon, citrus peel and tangerine. A one of a kind beverage that is the only wine of its type in the world. This is the most sophisticated vintage yet of the Contadino, unlike anything you've ever tasted, it is very intriguing, complex and enjoyable as an actual wine, not just as a study.
However, the Contadino is not for everyone as there is nothing normal or familiar about any of Frank's wines. You have to forget everything you expect or know about how wine tastes and approach them with a truly open mind. Drinking them is an experience, and one that I promise you won't forget even if you ultimately decide they are not for you!
To experience the full potential of Frank's wines, it is important to transport and store them at a cool temperature of 58-60 degrees. Because the wine is unfiltered there is a lot of murky sediment in the bottle, so be sure to stand it upright for a few days before serving to allow the lees to settle. Since they are natural there are no sulfites or preservatives added to protect against color degradation, so if left open a few hours, you will see the color evolve from granite red to volcanic black ash!!! Don't worry, the flavors become more complex with time, as the color turns.
As you could expect, Frank does not make much wine period, so availability is limited. But his wines are truly one of a kind and if what he does sounds intriguing to you, start with the Contadino. Lirette Selections is also carrying the Munjebel Bianco and Munjabel Rosso so you will be seeing and hearing about those soon as well!
Also, the first time we drank this wine was with Cynthia during one of her visits to New Orleans to plan our trip. I made a Sicilian dinner that evening and paired the Contadino with a simple but delicious dish called Pesto Trapanese and they worked beautifully together.
We've been coveting this bottle of Pesto di Pistacchio di Bronte since we returned from our trip to Sicily in October. We were leaving our home in Lingaglossa on Mount Etna and stopped in the little wine shop that we frequented during our visit. As Sicilian's take great pride in their local products, the little store was packed with honey, chocolates, pistacchios, jams, wine and other culinary delights from that part of the island.
Not wanting to open it, we hid it in our pantry waiting as close to the expiration date as we could. So one night last week we grilled some Tuscan style steaks, reluctantly but excitedly, opened the bottle and stirred up the contents. Scents of Sicilia instantly rose from the jar, bringing us right back to the eastern coast of the island where pistacchio di Bronte have an almost sacred status. Check out this site, bronte insieme, if you want more information on this most amazing place and nut. Below is a recipe from their site:
PISTACHIO PESTO Ingredients: one bunch of basil, one bunch of parsley, 50 grams pistachios, 20 grams pine nuts, 30 grams toasted almonds, olive oil, 30 grams parmesan, salt and pepper. In a blender, puree the pistachios, pine nuts, toasted almonds, parmesan and a handful each of parsley and basil. Add as much olive oil as needed, along with salt and pepper. Blend until it forms a smooth paste. This pesto goes well with penne pasta, spaghetti and gnocchi.
You may remember that I first talked about the 2007 Pietradolce Archineri when I posted my top 10 wine experiences of 2009. Brought in by our friend Matt Lirette, who thankfully has come to share my love for the Etna region and the NerelloMascalese grape, this is such a beautiful, approachable expression of the varietal that I could hardly contain myself when it arrived in the shop on Friday. I've been bugging Matt about this wine ever since he got me a sample from North Berkley imports 6 months ago. He promised he would order it for me, but he thought the 2007 was out of stock, so it would probably be the 2008. Well I can't tell you how ecstatic I was when I open the box and pulled out a bottle of '07 and thinking it was just a fluke, I pulled out every bottle and all were the of the same delicious vintage I had last year. So I called him to please send me more.
View of the terrain near Solicchiata, Sicily
Anyway, since that evening when I first had it back in December, I've done a bit of research on the wine. The grapes for the Pietradolce come from vineyards near Solicchiata, on the north eastern slopes of the volcano where many of the prominent producers such as Passopisciaro, Frank Cornelissen, TerreNere and a handful of others have staked their claim on the ancient volcanic soils. Winemaker Michel Faro at Pietradolce uses grapes from 50-60 years old vines grow at a dizzying 2,600 foot altitude, pushing their way up out of thick, black soils, a generous gift of the Etna, which are a mix of sandy loam, volcanic rock and mineral elements. It is 100% NerelloMascalese and spends 14 months in French oak. And believe it or not, the 2007 was their first vintage!
Black volcanic soils of the Etna
I also found out that a few other also thought this wine was pretty spectacular as GamberoRosso gave it their prestigesTreBicchieri award, given to less than 300 wines per year. So just what do you get with the Archineri? Another wine that reinforced for me the amazing things that can come from this grape! A heady perfume of red fruits, baking spices and caramel literally jump from the glass, with lush, almost jammy flavors of plum, raspberries and oranges coat your palate. And it is approachable now, unlike some of the other Etna Rosso I've had recently. But, quantities are very limited and I can sell no more that 2 bottles per person, so call if you are interested.
A TreBicchieri wine, from the slopes of the Etna, of this caliber and in my shop at under $40 a bottle...unbelivelable!
It was our first rainy morning since we started the trip. We headed out early to meet Ciro Biondi, the current owner of Vini Biondi, with instructions to meet him at the piazza in front of the church of S. Alfio in the town of Trescastagni. Well of course it took us twice as long to get there, as it does traveling anywhere in Sicily, but after a few phone calls, the accommodating Ciro arrived at the piazza and asked us to follow him up the mountain to his vineyards.
The Biondi family has owned vineyards on the Etna since 1635, but didn't start producing their own wine until the late 1800's. Over the past hundred plus years they have seen countless medals and awards, partnerships, periods of prolific production countered with declines in quality, all leading to the present day tutelage of Ciro Biondi. In 1999, an architect by trade, Ciro decided to restore his family vineyards. He hired renowned Salvo Foti, considered one of the most gifted interpreters of native varietals in Sicily, as his winemaker and the match has resulted in multiple Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri awards for his red wines. We followed Ciro up the winding roads first to Monte Ilice, a dormant volcanic crater whose slopes rise to a steep 900m at a 50% gradient! A blanket of fog lay over the top of the mountain, obscuring much of the 2 hectares of east facing vineyards that stretch up right to the edge of the crater. They are planted with bush trained Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio using 2meter poles to help hold the soils in place on the steep gradient. Of course everything has to be done by hand, so Ciro has a 300 meter cable lift to bring materials up and down the mountain. At harvest, it takes 4 people 10 days to hand select the grapes from the Monte Ilice vineyard. It is an incredible vineyard site and a definite source of pride for Ciro.
The soils here are amazing. Although in the photo it just looks like fertile black earth, it is actually more like a gravel of ground volcanic rock and sand. It is these soils and the dramatic climate on the slopes of the volcano that make the Etna so unique and one of the most exciting spots in the world of wine today.
We piled back in to the cars to follow Ciro to his next vineyard site, Carpene, where he nostalgically recalls the days that wine was still made here in the old palmento. The typical winemaking structure of the 19th century, the palmento at Vini Biondi is built into the hillside with openings on the upper part of the back wall where the grapes would be brought in to stone basins for foot treading. By gravity, foot-trodden musts would pour into fermentation basins on the lower floor. While no longer used for production, it has been beautifully restored and makes for a wonderfully romantic setting!
Next we headed to Ciro's current production facility where we tasted from the fermentation tanks, freshly picked Nerello Mascalese, and the Outis, a consistent Tre Bicchieri winner from Gambero Rosso. The Outis is a blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio that come from his east facing Monte Ronzini vineyards at 620m. He also popped a bottle of his newly released and current award winner, the 2006 M.I.(Monte Ilice), that was just announced as a Tre Bicchieri recipient for the 2010 edition!
Beautiful wines, amazing vineyards and a gracious host, we totally enjoyed our visit with Ciro and Trescastagni. As Ciro headed off to a filming in the vineyards with British chef and restaurateur Gary Rhodes, we went back done the mountain into town for a delicious lunch!
Click here for the full slideshow of our visit: Vini Biondi
After our lovely breakfast at the Scilio Agriturismo, we packed ourselves into our vehicles and headed off to our much anticipated visit with controversial producer Frank Cornelissen. Of Belgian descent, Frank is a newcomer to the Etna which presents both advantages and disadvantages for the passionate winemaker who arrived on the volcano in 2001. Having no roots or ties to the age old regional traditions in winemaking, Frank feels free to do things his own way. Blending white and red grapes for his Contadino, skin fermenting his white wines, using clay amphora for aging; these are just a few of the unconventional methods he uses that helped him earn the title the "Madman of Etna".
When I asked what drew him to the Etna, he said it was precisely the Etna that called him to Sicily. The unique climate, soil and the history that the volcano presents are unlike anywhere in the world and give him an exciting venue for his minimalistic approach to winemaking. Frank takes the term non-intervention to the extreme. He feels that anytime you add something to the process, be it herbicides, oak, sulfites, you take something away from the wine. Which is why Frank avoids all possible interventions including any treatments, whether chemical, organic, or biodynamic, to keep the process in tune with nature as it was done thousands of years ago.
So what does all this mean in terms of Frank's viticultural and vinification practices? Frank has 12 hectares of land that he uses for grapes, fruit and olive trees. Out of those 12 hectares, 9.5 are classic free standing bush vines with some from cuttings of prephylloxera vines. He cultivates other plants and species in between the vines, such as buckwheat, fruit trees and even beehives to help maintain a balanced ecosystem. He keeps his yields low, 300g per plant and harvests totally by hand, usually in late October into early November.
Once the grapes reach the "catina", Frank again takes a minimalist approach. After crushing, the must is then placed into big plastic drums in his backyard (no temperature control here) which are then covered with a tent-like plastic material to keep the rain out. The wine is left to spontaneously ferment and macerate with the skins for a long time not to disturb the complex natural processes of fermentation. The skins, seeds and wine remain unseparated during the entire process in order to extract all possible aromas of soil and territory. Pressed with a wooden basket press the wine is then put into the clay amphorae with the help of gravity and later bottled unfiltered. Absolutely nothing else is added to this wine. Nothing. Not even SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide). The "cellar" is currently a small room adjacent to the oudoor "catina", although Frank was in the process of moving to a larger facility while we were there. The 400 liter amphorae are buried to the neck in ground volcanic rock keeping in tune with the ancient traditions of aging. Again he is looking for the most pure expression of the territory and feels that oak of any kind will take something away from wine.
Frank currently produces 5 wines, Munjebel Bianco, Munjebel Rosso, Contadino, Magma and Susucaru all of which we tasted with Frank (except for the Susucaru, his rose, which we had with dinner the next evening, but we'll leave that for another post....)on this lovely fall day outside on his black lava rock courtyard. The wines are like nothing you've ever tasted before! I once heard someone describe them as "energetic" which I think is a great term as there is a natural vibrancy and living energy that is present in every one of Frank's wines.
We started with the Munejebel Bianco a blend of Carricante, Grecanico Dorato and Coda di Volpe which is vinified like like a red wine, in full and long skin-contact because as Frank says "the flavors of the grape are on the skin". A beautiful orangish gold color, cloudy (no fining or filtering here), intense minerality, an earthy/ashy/smoky quality with apricots and herbs. Light tannins and firm acidity, but not overdone. Next up was the Contadino that started as house wine for the workers where he combines Nerello Mascalese (70%) and an assortment of his white grapes. It is a light, fresh style wine with red berries and currants, that unmistakable earthy/ashy quality, little tannin but nice acidity. Young and fruity and a joy to drink. We then moved to the Munjebel Rosso which combines various vineyards and vintages of his best Nerello Mascalese grapes. Beautiful, sweet earthy red fruits with a little black tea and spice. Again a smoky minerality comes through on the palate; bold but with a fresh elegance as well. My favorite of the reds for its approachability, complexity and price. The finale is the Magma, made from ungrafted pre-phylloxera, single vineyard Nerello Mascalese that is only bottled from vineyards and vintages that provide the perfect quality. This is Frank's top wine and it exhibits a complex nose of cherries, plums, earth, smoke and a little tar. Sort of nebbiolo like with a nice density on the palate. Full, a little tannic and tight; needs time but you can already taste the amazing quality and potential of this wine.
Through his practice of non-intervention Frank allows the wines to take a natural course and through taking that course a very distinct quality comes through each and every wine. I can only describe it as an essence of purity and an expression of the grape from a very particular time and place that you taste in every sip and each one of his creations. That particular place is the Etna and is like no other on earth. And Frank's wines are alive with the spirit of this amazing place.
Thank you Frank, it was an honor to meet you and spend such a wonderful afternoon with you and your wines! I can't wait till our next visit! To view the full slide show from our visit, click here: Munjebel, Frank Cornelissen
Winding through the switchbacks and little hill towns around the Etna, we arrive at the church in Passopisciaro to meet vineyard manager Vincenzo Lo Mauro who leads us up the narrow roads that circle the vineyards. We stopped along the road above the estate to get the full view of the terraced vineyards of Chardonnay, Nerello Mascalese, Cenase d'Affile and Petit Verdot.
The property was bought by Tuscan wine superstar Andrea Francetti in 2000. Completely abandoned since a fierce eruption of the Etna in 1947, they had their work cut out for them. They completely renovated the 150 year old lava rock buildings and replanted the vineyards using the existing terraces. There is a specific spot on the property where the lava flow from the 1947 eruption stopped, saving the structures and the vineyards from complete devastation. Marked by a Madonna in a lava rock shell it is a constant reminder of how lucky and how vulnerable they are.
Piling in to the bed of the pik up, Vincenzo drove us up into the vineyards where winemaker Anne Martens was collecting samples of nerello mascalese to determine the precise moment of harvest in the next few days. It was an absolutely stunning day with temperatures in the low 80's and soft breezes rustling through the vines.
From there we went to the production facility where we were greeted by a few adorable dogs with a little girl named "pucci" stealing the show before we went inside. After touring the fermentation tank area Vincenzo took us to the cellars where the wine is stored before bottling. Only one wine, their franchetti sees small barriques for a short 6 month period, everything else is aged in large, well used foudres that impart little to no flavor to the wines. There are 4 current releases , the Guardiola, a Chardonnay; the Passopisciaro, a Nerello Mascalese; the Franchetti, a Petit Verdot/Cenase blend (that just happened to receive 97 Parker points); and the Dolce, a beautiful passito style white dessert wine. But they've got a few new wines in production right now and we were able to barrel taste a few of the 2008 that will highlight the nerello mascalese grape at different elevations.
Next we went up to their sorting room that they set up as a tasting area for us. Here they laid out a table covered in typical Sicilian foods such as the local pecorino and smoked ricotto cheeses, salumi, grilled eggplant and zucchini, olives, fresh tomato salad and a house baked bread all accompanied by the 2007 Passopisciaro, delizioso!
While we were enjoying the food and wine, winemaker Anna Martens had finished testing the bags of grapes she had gathered from the different vineyard sites. To end our visit with a special treat, she squeezed the bunches of nerello mascalese and handed us glasses of the most amazing grape juice I've ever had!
We reluctantly said our good byes and headed back down the mountain to the agriturismo.
For months now you've been hearing me go on and on about our upcoming wine and culinary tour of Sicily (which by the way we are leaving in less than 2 weeks!!) and especially my fascination with the exceptional wines and producers of the Mount Etna. The region is way off the radar of most wine drinkers, albeit Wine Spectator's latest edition did do a somewhat lame article, "Remaking Sicily" where they gave an approving nod to a few producers mainly influential importer, consultant and winemaker Marc de Grazia of Tenuta delle Terre Nere.
Growing vines in the shadow of Europe's only active volcano is not for the faint of heart. Towering above Catania, Sicily's second largest city, Mount Etna has one of the world's longest documented records of historical volcanism, dating back to 1500 BC with minor eruptions still taking place today. The major eruptions and lava flows over the last few centuries have created the huge variety of lava formations that make up Etna’s unique topography. Eruptions from volcanic vents on the east side of the mountain have melted a destructive trail through any communities that lay in their path towards their ultimate destination – the sea.
Etna has two distinct viticultural areas, the eastern and northern slope. The former has a mild, maritime, fairly humid climate, quite a bit of precipitation and is also the source for most of Etna’s distinctive, mineral, salt-scented white wines that are mostly based on the local Carricante grape as well as reds from Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio. Sheltered from Mediterranean influences by the Nebrodi mountain range the vineyards on the northern slope see much less rain and the temperature differences between day and night can be extreme. Red wines reign supreme, with the Nerello Mascalese grape reaching qualitative heights. Here you also find much older, up to 130-year-old vines, partly ungrafted as phylloxera cannot survive on the very active volcanic ash sand.
The superstar variety of the region is Nerello Mascalese, with its bright red fruit, pleasantly earthy and floral notes, hints of tobacco and notable tannin, is often compared to the likes of Barolo and Burgundy. Nerello Mascalese ripens late, and grapes are grown up to a cool 4,000 feet on the slopes of Mount Etna so that they sometimes may not be picked until the end of October or even the beginning of November. The variety certainly holds its acid well and combined with a decent tannin structure, the wine is good to drink young and able to age too.
The Etna wines are excitingly different, very intriguing and unfortunately difficult to get in New Orleans....the only wholesaler in the city who is currently stocking an Etna Rosso is Matt Lirette (Lirette Selections). And not just any Rosso, but that of Salvo Foti, an impressive, leading local viticulturist who makes wine for many of the larger producers in the region as well as his own label, I Vigneri.
I've been a bit obsessed about these wines lately and have made a great contact with wine professional in Austin, A.J. Hernandez who is extremely knowledgeable about the region. He sent me a short list of "must see" producers and because of his help and advice we have appointments with 3 exciting producers in the area, Frank Cornelissen, Passopisciaro and Vini Biondi (Salvo Foti is the winemaker here). The Etna is awash with amazing small producers and other names to look for include Alberto Graci, Terre Nere, Benanti to name a few.
So if you are intrigued by all of this, join us of our Tuesday tasting of "Italy's Southern Stars" where we'll be tasting my "wine of the moment", Salvo Foti's I Vigneri Etna Rosso as well as other favorite selections from Sicily, Sardinia, Puglia and Campagnia.
