Another consistent offering from the MGM Mondo del Vino people: this Grillo from Sicily.
Grillo is normally a blending grape for Marsala but on its own is a refreshing drop, especially on a warm evening.
On offer from O’Briens, another good party wine.
Flowery Peach notes. Nice if a little bland and certainly pricey @ €27 in Ouzos where we had a good set meal with Deana followed by a Guinness in Finnegans to send her on her way back to Perth. G’day Deana!
A webtrawl reveals this Catarratto (Lucido?) comes from one of our favourite places in Sicily:
“Catarratto, despite being grown almost exclusively in Sicily is one of Italy’s most commonly planted grape varieties. Catarratto vines cover more surface area in Sicily than those of any other variety. The variety makes up around 60 percent of total vineyard area on the island and is largely confined to the western provinces (Trapani, Palermo and Agrigento)”
Catarratto is also used in Marsala Production.
The producer’s and Winemaker’s notes are here
Fiano grape from Campania transplanted to Sicily
This wine is a surprise: nice dry unoaked white, slightly buttery creamy edge, apricot aroma. Nicely refreshing for a Bank Holiday Weekend.
Upon further research this comes from a part of Sicily which we love and have visited several times.
“Mandrarossa is produced by the Settesoli co-op in the hills surrounding Menfi, between Agrigento and Selinunte. Settesoli source their grapes from dedicated vineyards using a computer mapped traceability system which analyses sugar development, tannin ripeness and acidity levels throughout the growing season to ensure optimum quality at picking. The grapes are picked from the bunch and delicately crushed before cooling off and then strained with light presses. The juice undergoes cold settling and fermentation at temperatures of 16–18ºC.”
Plastic Cork.
A first for me, Fiano is a low yielding white Italian wine grape grown in the Campania and on Sicily.
This is from Menfi in South west Sicily, near Marinella. Very nice, almost honeyed / buttery in texture with a citrus and nut nose.
The wine maker is the Settesoli cooperative whose brand is INYCON.
€10 from Tesco on offer. Slightly annoying that the same wine is £5.99 in Britain.
Grapes from Sicily but bottled in Piedmont.
Akin to eating an Irish Cheese which is ‘made’ and packed in England by Tesco from Irish Dairy produce. Perhaps.
Fruity. Dry.
The O’Briens guff stated this was like a Shiraz but I’m afraid I wasn’t hugely impressed – a rather poor single sided version of a Nero D’Avola.
Perhaps I didn’t chambre it properly or maybe it needed decanting into a Carafe.
€9.99 O’Briens
Cantine di Priocca in Piedmont owned by MGN Mondo del Vino – who claim to be the 15th biggest Italian wine exporter
Lesley took me to Sicily in May and we ended the trip in Palermo.
These are some of the wines we had to sample there with Donald & Dale, who kindly travelled to spend the weekend with us.
Each as tasty as the last. Someone has to do it!
Catarratto (43%), Pinot Bianco (25%), Sauvignon (22%) and Traminer Aromatico (10%).
McConkey Wine 