SharePLACES AND VINEYARDS
Prickly pear
Sicily is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, in the heart of a region where wine has been made for over 5,000 years. Sicily is a part of Italy that in ancient times was called “Enotria”, which means “the land of wine”. Sicily is a meeting point of cultures which developed in Europe, Africa and Asia and which fused together to form an inseparable and unique culture. Because of this, when visiting the island one may encounter people as blond as the Vikings or dark as the Berbers, whilst the Sicilian cuisine is a concentration of the many flavors to be found on the shores of the small sea, or rather large lake, whose name means “in the middle of the lands”.
C up, 7th Century B.C., with
the symbol of Sicily at its centre
The ancient symbol of Sicily consists of three legs forming a wheel (symbolizing the sun), at the centre of which is the severed head of the serpent-haired Medusa. Medusa was originally a Libyan goddess, the guardian of science and truth, the sight of whose face would turn anyone to stone.
Siracusa, la cattedrale.
Sicily has preserved its historical centers and the typical nature of ancient European cities, such that often large parts of both its small and larger cities date back to bygone centuries. For instance, Syracuse’s cathedral is essentially the Temple of Athena (built 25 centuries ago), adapted for use as a Catholic church. While Palermo has the largest historical centre in Europe, and maybe even in the world, based on buildings dating back to before 1800. Skyscrapers are noticeable by their absence. The largest cities consist of buildings between two and eight stories, the smaller cities tending to only have buildings of up to four stories high. Typical of nearly all of the centers, at least those dating back to before 1800, is the presence of a castle. Wine in Sicily has a history thousands of years old. Archaeological remains, in fact, prove the cultivation of vines around 3,000 years ago, and it is not by chance that one of the largest ancient wine cellars known today is to be found close to Agrigento. This wine cellar was in operation 2,400 years ago when Archestratus was writing the first ever book dedicated entirely to gastronomy, in Syracuse.
Copertina dell’opera nella traduzione inglese.
According to a modern day winemaker, all the wine grapes coming from the Middle East and Greece, passed through Sicily and then made their way north. We don’t know if this was in fact the case, however it is certain that even today hundreds of different grape varieties are cultivated in Sicily. The principal varieties are, for the white wines: Catarratto, Inzolia and Grillo, for the red ones: Nero d'Avola, Nerello Mascalese and Frappato. Alongside these, other grape varieties have been introduced, from both other regions of Italy, as well as international varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and ... many others which have given fantastic results. Icone has its own vineyards in Noto. A city famous for both history and art, with great wine-making traditions which still remain today. In 2002 Noto has been included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO.
Our vineyards
Our vineyard, or rather vineyards (you will see why below) are located in the countryside around Noto, in a place aptly called “Contrada Buonivini”, which means “land of fine wines” (this is its real name, we didn’t name it such), in an area renowned for being one of the best in Sicily for producing great red wines, not far from the beautiful Villa del Tellaro. A land bathed in sun, far from inhabited areas and industrial works and therefore from the pollution that they cause. The vineyards are just a few kilometers from the sea, at an altitude of between 40 and 60 a.m.s.l.
Pantalica little lake.
This proximity to the sea, which during summer guarantees an almost constant breeze, is extremely beneficial to the health of the grapes, in addition to restricting the use of phytosanitary products. The soils are predominantly clay, with a total limestone content greater than 50% and an active limestone content equal to around 11%. The composition of the soil vary, however, there being white (scarce and without vineyards), reddish, grey and black soils. The vineyards (one begins to understand the plural now) extend over an area of around 14 hectares (35 acres) and in which are used two different systems: the traditional Gobelet (or low bush) and, the modern one, Vertical Trellis.
A Gobelet vine
The area given over to the Gobelet system is around 2,5 hectares (around 10 acres), where the average vine age is 15 years. This area has a vine density of 5,000 plants per hectare (2,000 vines per acre), vine spacing of 2 m / 7 ft. between rows and 1 m / 3 ft. between plants). The <em>Gobelet</em> vines have three branches, or shoots, per plant, each of which has up to 3 grape clusters. The shoots branch off, on average, 50 cm / 2 ft. above the ground.
The area given over to the Gobelet system is around 6.5 hectares (16 acres), where the oldest vines are just under 40 years old and the youngest are around 10 years old.
For the ancient Gobelet vines, the vine spacing is 1.10 m by 1.10 m, with a consequential vine density of over 8,000 plants per hectare; the newer Gobelet area has a vine density of 5,000 plants per hectare (vine spacing of 2 m between rows and 1 m between plants).
The Vertical Trellis vines are 8 years old and have a vine spacing of 1,80 m / 6 ft. between rows and 0,85 m -3 ft. between plants, with a consequential vine density of around 7,000 plants per hectare (2,800 per acre).
Controspalliera (Vertical Trellis).
The Vertical Trellis vines, which in our case are Spurred Cordon, have 4 to 5 shoots per plant, each of which has two grape clusters. The fruit-bearing shoots are, on average, 70 cm above the ground. The rootstocks used are different, both due to the various different soil types in which they are grown, and in order to produce grapes with subtly different characteristics, which give an organoleptic richness to the wine. These rootstocks are traditional: Paulsen and Ruggeri, as well as modern. The grape picking usually takes place in the second half of September, although it can be a week earlier to two weeks later, depending on when the grapes reach optimal maturity, which changes slightly according to position, soil and type of cultivation.
Little wine
The harvest is manual. The grapes are collected in small crates, which are then placed in a temperature-controlled cold store to prevent unwitting fermentation that sometimes happens at high temperatures.
Harvested grapes in box.
And as ancient traditions dictate (dating as far back as the Greeks), the cultivation of vines goes along with that of olive trees, and this is also the case for us.
Fruit trees (figs, almonds, apricots, carobs) are scattered here and there, while dwarf fan palms add their untamed charm.
