2015 Colosi Nero D'Avola

2015 Colosi Nero D’Avola

Where: Sicily

Who: Piero Colosi

What: 100% Nero D’Avola

Soil: Limestone

Tastes like: Dark red fruits, particularly dried cherries, with a spicy character.  Medium plus, a warm and aromatic wine.

What to pair with: Spaghetti al’Amatriciana, cured meats and aged cheeses, red sauce pizzas, chicken parm

The What: Nero D’Avola (literally “black grape of avola”) is the most widely planted and arguably the most impotant native grape varietal to Sicily.  The vines like hot, relatively dry weather, and is most closely comparable to a Syrah, with less inky qualities.  

The Who:  The Colosi family has been working in the wine field for three generations. The bottling cellar is in Sicily, located in Giammoro (Messina).  It is run by the oenologist Piero Colosi, who with the precious contribution of his father Pietro follows the various stages of wine-making, from vinification to refinement and from bottling to marketing both in Italy and abroad.  The farm itself covers ten hectares in Salina (a small island in the Eolian Archipelago), all planted with vines, located at Gramignazzi in the Borough of Malfa.  This area is recognized as one of the best in the island both for its exposure and for the physical- chemical nature of the soil which, being of volcanic origin, is particularly suitable for vine cultivation. The new wine-making cellar, surrounded by the Malvasia vineyards was finished in 2004. It is located underground to both respect the strict rules for the preservation of the Eolian archipelago and have a constant temperature for the optimum care of the product.

The Where: Sicily is the large volcanic island that forms the toe of the “boot.”  Mt. Etna, the volcano that gave birth to the island, is the largest volcano in Europe and regularly rains black ash down on the island.  This ash is incredibly fertile and has a direct impact on the agricultural life of the island. Colosi’s winery is located in Mesina in the north east corner, just to the north of Mt. Etna.  The vineyards themselves are on the Eolian island of Salina (the 3rd little splot up from north coast on your map).  Volcanic soils and a hot, mediterranean climate contribute to a warm, high acid wine, with integrated tannins and a long, dry finish.