Wines of Sicily

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.

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