Winemaker Notes
Made in amphora, this 100% Nero d'Avola is a medium-bodied wine that intensifies the minerality and savoriness of its fruit. It has dramatic aromas of dark wild berries, purple flowers, and a hint of spice. As it breathes, the acidity softens, leading to a bright and complex finish. This wine is a great pairing for white meats, veal, meatballs, mushrooms, and tomato-based sauces, as well as hearty seafood dishes like stews, octopus, and salmon, and with washed-rind cheeses
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Rosso Pithos wafts up with a pretty blend of rose petal, sage and dried strawberry. Light bodied and juicy in character, it washes across the palate with saline-infused red berry fruit and a tinge of sour citrus. The 2023 finishes fresh and with medium length, leaving the slightest hint of licorice to linger. The Rosso Pithos finished at just 10.5% alcohol in 2023 due to an attack of the Cicalina fly, which feasts on the leaves of the plant and halts sugar production. While this is not as deep and powerful as expected, it is a pleasure to drink.
Boldly opulent and robust, Nero d’Avola is Sicily’s most widely planted red grape. Nero d’Avola performs well both as a single varietal bottling and in blends. It loves hot, arid climates and Sicily's old vines are aptly head-trained close to the ground, making them resistant to strong winds. A few pioneering producers in California as well as Australia farm Nero d’Avola in the same way. Somm Secret—Nero d’Avola's other name, Calabrese, suggests origins from the mainland region of Calabria.
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.