Wines of Sicily

In Sicily, "coast" is the side of the hills that gently slope down to the sea, covered by vineyards as far as the eye can see that bask in the sun, unkempt by the fresh Mediterranean breezes. These are the places of Grillo, a fascinating native variety that interprets the beauty of the Menfi terroir with great personality. Son of generous lands, Coste al Vento gives us a full and ripe fruit that blends with the brackish notes brought by the sea winds, in a harmonious crescendo made original by maceration on the skins and fermentation with indigenous yeasts.

The old vineyards of Inzolia planted by my father more than fifty years ago are an extraordinary legacy on which to build the future of viticulture in Belicello. The original clones, perfectly adapted to the particular conditions of the environment to which they belong, exuberantly express the personality and wine culture of the Menfi area. The soil, mainly calcareous and pebbly, gives the wine an intense and at the same time delicate sapidity, great depth and aromatic breadth.

Vibrant and decisive, NoTrix is direct and transparent: it does not want and does not need "embellishments". It is a wine with a brilliant ruby colour, with intense and playful scents of red fruits and geranium flowers. Its solid and well integrated tannins support a palate with an agile and dynamic body, where spicy notes of ginger and star anise accompany the drink towards a saline and very persistent finish. This is how Perricone is, and this is how I like this wine to be: without tricks and without falsehoods, far from oenological models that do not belong to the Menfi winemaking tradition.

Feminine and sensual, Lu Còri tells of a Sicily kissed by the sun and caressed by sea breezes. Its splendid purple livery, edged with violet reflections in its youth, evolves towards ruby with the passing of the years. Ripe red fruits, especially blackberries and raspberries, characterize the bouquet, made intriguing by notes of brine and a slight spiciness. In the mouth it is fragrant, soft and velvety, with delicate tannins, perfectly integrated in a juicy and persistent finish.

Bright red in colour, with cherry and plum notes on the nose, it is well balanced with red berry fruits and a well integrated oak character on the palate

Zibibbo has a history spanning thousands of years: it has Egyptian origins and after this first long adaptation to the North African coasts, Zibibbo was brought to western Sicily by the Phoenicians and the Greeks, becoming one of the most widespread and interesting varieties of the western Mediterranean around 800-700 aC During the Roman Empire the variety was also exported to other regions of southern Europe. Zibibbo is known in Sicily mainly by its Arabic denomination, Z'bìb, which simply means "raisins".

The name derives from the "black berry" fruit and from the Syracusan city of Avola. Nero d'Avola on the island was introduced several centuries ago by colonizers from Greece and then it adapted perfectly to this new environment so as to become the most famous and important black grape variety in Sicily. Until the first half of the 20th century, Nero d'Avola wine was used almost exclusively as a blending wine, in recent decades Sicilian winemakers have started the production of this wine alone with truly excellent results.

Grillo is a white grape variety widespread above all in western Sicily. The probable origin lies in what Baron Mendola wrote in 1874: “white Catarratto seed artificially fertilized with Zibibbo in the flowering of 1869 in my Piana dei Peri vineyard near Favara […] . The same wrote also in 1904 "I hybridized the common Catarratto of Sicily […] neck Zibibbo, to be able to make a more aromatic Marsala". The Grillo initially finds its origin in the Marsala area and then in the other provinces of the island. Il Grillo is capable of giving wines with a high alcohol content and then having the vocation of being particularly predisposed to ageing. The best Marsala is obtained by vinifying Grillo.

Girolamo Russo's Etna Rosso San Lorenzo was born in vineyards located in Contrada San Lorenzo (Randazzo), in the extraordinary wine-growing panorama of Etna, a terroir particularly suited to the production of wines of great value, which benefits from unique temperature ranges.

Girolamo Russo's Etna Rosso San Lorenzo was born in vineyards located in Contrada San Lorenzo (Randazzo), in the extraordinary wine-growing panorama of Etna, a terroir particularly suited to the production of wines of great value, which benefits from unique temperature ranges.

Etna Bianco "San Lorenzo" is a mineral and delicate white wine, made with Carricante grapes and other local varieties that grow at high altitudes on the sandy soils of the Great Volcano. The nose has a fine and very mineral olfactory profile, with suggestive notes of white pulp fruit, citrus fruits and pleasant floral sensations. It reveals a slender and dynamic body, of great progression and freshness, with a clear mineral trail

Etna Bianco "San Lorenzo" is a mineral and delicate white wine, made with Carricante grapes and other local varieties that grow at high altitudes on the sandy soils of the Great Volcano. The nose has a fine and very mineral olfactory profile, with suggestive notes of white pulp fruit, citrus fruits and pleasant floral sensations. It reveals a slender and dynamic body, of great progression and freshness, with a clear mineral trail

The San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe magnum Etna Rosso DOC wine is a label signed by Girolamo Russo. With marked organoleptic characteristics, it is the perfect companion for robust first courses, grilled red meats, game, venison and noble poultry. Harmonious and characteristic, the San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe magnum Etna Rosso DOC wine preserves the richness of the Nerello Mascalese grapes grown in the Randazzo area (CT)

Although the ruby color of young Nerello Mascalese is quite pale, here we find an extra point of density. It's not a casuality. The concentration offered by the old vines can be seen right from the colour. Then the nose. Closed in the first phase, it opens slowly offering first delicious notes of small red fruit, then much more. And then here's the strawberry, then the blueberry, a touch of currant. And yet another spicy nuance, an earthy, acrid, almost bloody hint and then again an undergrowth finish. The mouth recalls in the flavors everything that the eye and nose have anticipated. The wine is enveloping, the texture creamy. However, excessive softness is never felt, on the contrary. The mineral salts of the soil give a textbook sapidity, the acidity of the mountain is felt all right. And then the tannin, fine, well blended with the material, capable of giving rhythm to the sip. Final of great depth, clean elegance.

Girolamo Russo's Etna Bianco Nerina was born in vineyards located in the extraordinary wine-growing panorama of Etna, a terroir particularly suited to the production of wines of great value and in which the vines are trained as saplings, in this case at approx. 700 m. slm

Girolamo Russo's Etna Bianco Nerina was born in vineyards located in the extraordinary wine-growing panorama of Etna, a terroir particularly suited to the production of wines of great value and in which the vines are trained as saplings, in this case at approx. 700 m. slm

The Etna Rosso Feudo by Girolamo Russo was born in vineyards located in the Feudo district in Randazzo, in the extraordinary wine-growing panorama of Etna, a terroir particularly suited to the production of wines of great value, thanks to unique temperature ranges.

The Etna Rosso Feudo by Girolamo Russo was born in vineyards located in the Feudo district in Randazzo, in the extraordinary wine-growing panorama of Etna, a terroir particularly suited to the production of wines of great value, thanks to unique temperature ranges.

Girolamo Russo's Etna Rosso Feudo di Mezzo has still young and slightly rough tannins. Of an intense ruby red, it offers hints of ripe fruit, cherry, marasca cherry, aromatic herbs, balsamic essences and notes of vanilla and tobacco on the nose. On the palate it is soft, but with tannins still a little rough, with an excellent structure, a complex of great fullness of taste and persistence

Girolamo Russo's Etna Rosso Feudo di Mezzo has still young and slightly rough tannins. Of an intense ruby red, it offers hints of ripe fruit, cherry, marasca cherry, aromatic herbs, balsamic essences and notes of vanilla and tobacco on the nose. On the palate it is soft, but with tannins still a little rough, with an excellent structure, a complex of great fullness of taste and persistence

Girolamo Russo's Etna Rosato was born in the lower old vineyards located in the San Lorenzo district, in the extraordinary wine-growing panorama of Etna, a terroir particularly suited to the production of wines of great value, thanks to unique temperature ranges.

The red Etna Calderara Sottana by Girolamo Russo was born in the vineyards located in the Contrada Calderara Sottana district in Randazzo, in the extraordinary wine-growing panorama of Etna, a terroir particularly suited to the production of wines of great value, thanks to unique temperature ranges.

Etna Rosso "A' Rina" is a soft and structured wine, enveloping and complex, aged in second and third passage barriques for 12 months. Elegant notes of ripe red fruit, cherries, leather and tobacco best express the terroir of the great Sicilian mountain

Fresh as the sea breeze, the Inzolia from the young vineyards of Belicello is versatile, pleasant, with a dynamic and satisfying sip. Since its brilliant straw color, the glass reflects the intense light of the Sicilian mornings; the bouquet opens delicately on hints of citrus and almond blossom, and then evolves into notes of white peach and aromatic herbs. Its intense sapidity on the palate is made harmonious by a soft and flowing texture and by an acidity that is never too intrusive.

Vibrant and decisive, NoTrix is direct and transparent: it does not want and does not need "embellishments". It is a wine with a brilliant ruby colour, with intense and playful scents of red fruits and geranium flowers. Its solid and well integrated tannins support a palate with an agile and dynamic body, where spicy notes of ginger and star anise accompany the drink towards a saline and very persistent finish. This is how Perricone is, and this is how I like this wine to be: without tricks and without falsehoods, far from oenological models that do not belong to the Menfi winemaking tradition.

Each vineyard is a complex ecosystem where plants, animals, insects and infinite types of microorganisms live in harmony with each other. A balance that man's work must not upset but must understand, respect and protect, limiting his interventions to the essential so as not to alter the dynamics of the natural environment of which he himself is a part. The Microcosm vineyard is an example of how this balance is possible, in a varietal interdependence that is both energy and life.

Feminine and sensual, Lu Còri tells of a Sicily kissed by the sun and caressed by sea breezes. Its splendid purple livery, edged with violet reflections in its youth, evolves towards ruby with the passing of the years. Ripe red fruits, especially blackberries and raspberries, characterize the bouquet, made intriguing by notes of brine and a slight spiciness. In the mouth it is fragrant, soft and velvety, with delicate tannins, perfectly integrated in a juicy and persistent finish.

At the western border of the Belicello Estate, the Belìce River flows lazily towards the Mediterranean, drawing large volutes, bordered by brambles and reeds and inhabited by hawks, herons and birds of passage. The deep sandy soils on the embankment are periodically invaded by the waters of the river which, overflowing, deposit silty sediments and enrich them with a substantial mineral component. Inside a cove, which we have always called La Vota, lives the Cabernet Sauvignon: son of the River, the sea and the sands, interwoven with the flowers and herbs of the bed, minerals and brackish.

The Little Girl is play, curiosity, discovery. It is the wine that I have dedicated to women, to their strength, to their ability to fight for what they believe in without being frightened by difficulties. Its delicately coppery color is fascinating as a prelude to a fragrant bouquet of wild rose and wild strawberries, pomegranate, watermelon and lemon peel. Savory and crunchy on the palate, it is a very pleasant wine, whose persistence is accentuated by an iodized, almost marine finish.

Although originally from Ragusa, most of the Frappato is grown in the province of Trapani, a few kilometers from my vineyards. Menfi and Vittoria have a lot in common: both exposed to the South and therefore to Africa, kissed by the salty wind of the Mediterranean and rich in sandy-limestone soils lying on compact clays. These affinities convinced me to introduce Frappato to Belìce. When I created the FuoriZona label, Liliana Segre's story came to mind about the little girl who, during her deportation to Auschwitz, drew a butterfly flying over the barbed wire. I would like the tiny gesture of drawing that butterfly to bear witness to that message: always choose love, peace, solidarity towards every human being who lives, together with us, on this earth.

The old vineyards of Inzolia planted by my father more than fifty years ago are an extraordinary legacy on which to build the future of viticulture in Belicello. The original clones, perfectly adapted to the particular conditions of the environment to which they belong, exuberantly express the personality and wine culture of the Menfi area. The soil, mainly calcareous and pebbly, gives the wine an intense and at the same time delicate sapidity, great depth and aromatic breadth.

Coda della Foce has been defined as a beautiful wine in a blue dress: elegant, never intrusive, at ease in any situation, persuasive with style and personality. Blend of Nero d'Avola and Petit Verdot in variable proportions depending on the vintage, it comes from the assembly of the best carats that have shown a particular personality and evolutionary finesse and is produced only when the characteristics of each harvest and the long aging in large casks allow it to express a superior organoleptic quality. Super Sicilian by birth, citizen of the world by choice of life.

Alicante is a variety of Spanish origin, introduced in Sicily during the dominations of the XV-XVI century and widespread in many regions of the Mediterranean, where it is also known by the name of Garnacha, Grenache and Cannonau. In Menfi its personality is influenced by the marine microclimate which enriches the typical fruity softness of the vine with a particular saline note and makes the wine very expressive and very pleasant. Ciàtu is love, it is breath and breath, it is the energy of the sun, the profound strength of the earth, the very breath of life.

In Sicily, "coast" is the side of the hills that gently slope down to the sea, covered by vineyards as far as the eye can see that bask in the sun, unkempt by the fresh Mediterranean breezes. These are the places of Grillo, a fascinating native variety that interprets the beauty of the Menfi terroir with great personality. Son of generous lands, Coste al Vento gives us a full and ripe fruit that blends with the brackish notes brought by the sea winds, in a harmonious crescendo made original by maceration on the skins and fermentation with indigenous yeasts.

Azimut, our first wine. Expected and cherished like a dream that takes shape, which then becomes possible and finally becomes concrete with the passion and work of every day. Azimut, from the Arabic as-sumuth which means direction: because being a winemaker is not just a job, but implies a profound and conscious choice of life. Our experimentation with wild yeasts began with Azimut, of which very little was said in Sicily at the time, and this is why it was considered an extreme wine from the outset, with a little international personality.

Arèmi, one of the four suits with which the gambling cards are painted, as well as the community cards. The coin suit, which has the color of gold and like gold is precious in the game of broom and seven and a half. Catarratto is liquid gold, culuri d'arèmi: intense and brilliant gold that lights up from the sun and the sea of Sicily, full of the millenary history that skilled hands have handed down to us, from generation to generation, from the Greek motherland to the fertile countryside of Memphis. Arèmi is love for the land, respect for knowledge, conscious acceptance of a heritage to be preserved.