Producer Profile: On the Western coast of Sicily, spread over parcels in both Marsala & a town slightly south of the city called Mazara del Vallo, two family’s 100+ year-old co-winemaking endeavor has seen many vintages come and go, and with each one they’ve been managed according to the dictates of local tradition, what just so happens to coincide with organic treatment of grapevines and low-intervention in the cellar. It is almost as if the most sensible path forward is the one that leads back to the future. The families behind this project entitled “Viteadovest,” are the Portelli-Puleo & Angileri families, who had for many decades sold off their crop to either large co-ops and wine factories within Marsala, or if deciding to vinify some of their wines on their own, only doing so in tiny quantities before selling those cases to local shops. Within the past decade, Vincenzo Angileri (the main winemaker/farmer at the moment) has resumed the family’s deep tradition as a full grape-farming, wine-making endeavor, crafting coastal beauties from the heirloom vineyards replete with gnarly old vines of Grillo, Cataratto, Nero D’Avola, Nerello Mascalese and the rest. By and large, the whole range is renowned for its texture – true Sicilian gems bursting with personality.

Vinification & Tasting: 80% Catarratto and 20% Grillo from 40 year old vines in the western coastal town of Marsala in Sicily. The grapes are hand-harvested and fermented with wild yeasts in both stainless steel and fiberglass. The wine spends 7 days on the skins before pressing, followed by 7 months aging on the lees in tank. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, with no SO2. Bright citrus, chamomile and fresh unsweetened whipped cream, with a warming nuttiness on the finish. Cattaratto can be quite savory and firm, but the Grillo blended in lends the wine its freshness and lift.