Santa Anastasia Nero d'Avola 2001

Along Sicily’s northern coastline, between the sea and the Apennine range of Madonie, the medieval abbey or "abbazia" of Santa Anastasia is steeped in a natural landscape so extraordinary that the present owner, entrepreneur Francesco Lena, decided to transform these 988 acres of farmland, olive groves, vineyards and medieval buildings into a model, ultramodern winery and an exclusive relais, where visitors would be able to enjoy the unique, sultry beauty of Sicily at its finest.

In the quarter of a century that has elapsed since Lena purchased the vast property (1980), an extraordinary team of agronomists and wine technicians, orchestrated by Lena himself with winemaker Riccardo Cotarella, has succeeded in crafting some of the new icons of Sicilian oenology from elevated, Guyot-trained vines and superb terroir.