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2023 Harvest Reports Are In!
2023 Harvest Reports
<p>The 2023 vintage was certainly a mixed bag throughout Europe, particulaly in Italy where climactic hardships wrecked havoc troughout many regions. Whether is was a good or a bad year for the producers we represent, these harvest reports prove, as always, just how tireless and daunting their work is.</p>
<p>We are extremely fortunate to be able to represent this hard work year-in, year-out. So as we start our new year, let's give a big cheers to those who get the wine in our glasses! </p>
<p><a href="https://louisdressner.com/harvest-reports">You can go read all 31 2023 harvest reports here. </a></p>
Article
How does The New Website Work?
This is very exciting stuff!
<p><u><strong>Desktop vs Mobile:</strong></u></p>
<p>We know it's 2020 and people use their phones a lot. So we've worked hard on ensuring the site functions well on mobile (especially compared to what it once was). Having said that, desktop is the recommended way of perusing the site.</p>
<p><u><strong>Glossary:</strong></u></p>
<p>At its core, this has always been a website written for wine professionals *attempting* to glean information on the wines we import (and hopefully see a picture of the vigneron's dog). Since the language can be so technical, we've added an <glossary term="glossary" title="1427">interactive glossary</glossary> to the text for those unfamiliar with the baffllingly complex world of wine terminology. Even if you're a seasoned pro, it will frankly teach you a thing or two. And if you'd rather read the content without the glossary, simply head to the main menu bar and turn it off. </p>
<p> <u><strong>Our Wines Section: </strong></u></p>
<p>In the new "Our Wines" section, we've offered a variety of filter categories for you to explore and discover all the cuvées we import. These filters can be combined together to narrow down results. If you hit a wall, simply erase one of the filters or clear all filters. </p>
<p><u><strong>Actual Information About the Wines:</strong></u></p>
<p>Speaking of the wines, the number one complaint we would get from customers was the lack of technical information on the wines themselves. It's not a coincidence that we spend the vast majority of our energy focusing on the people behind the wines and their dogs; it's what we dig about what we do.</p>
<p>Having said that, 95% of the wines we import now have EXTREMELY detailed technical information, dare I say the most technical anywhere on the internet. Please enjoy now while they are up to date, knowing that half of these will probably be totally wrong by next vintage. </p>
<p><u><strong>Search:</strong></u></p>
<p>If you know what producer or wine you are searching for, the search should quickly autofill what you need. Go ahead, give it a whirl.</p>
<p><strong><u>Hyperlinks:</u></strong></p>
<p>Everything on the website has a hyperlink now. This means you can easily share a specific producer page, article, wine or filter combination with anyone. </p>
<p><u><strong>Copy/Paste:</strong></u></p>
<p>If you need to copy/paste anything, the glossary needs to be turned off for the text to paste correctly. Also, if you are going to straight up use our writing verbatim, PLEASE credit us when doing so. Seems obvious but we see it happen all the time. </p>
<p><u><strong>A Shit-Ton of Written Content:</strong></u></p>
<p>The articles themselves can often be very long, and for this reason we developed a Propriety Pop Up System™ where you can easily scroll through various articles/wines and "pop out" to efficiently look at the rest of the content.</p>
<p>We've tried our best to pack as many dog pictures as possible in there, but the digital ink has been spilled: the cumulation of decades' worth of writings from Joe, Denyse, Kevin and Jules is here for you to read. A huge part of the work with this new website was to find better ways to condense and extract essential information you need without getting lost in all that BORING text. </p>
<p>We still think you should check it out. Don't worry, there are plenty of pictures. And you might even find the writing interesting. Or funny. Or both. </p>
Article
EXPLORE
Las Vedras Producer Profile
<p>Sónia Raposo was working in the HR sector for a large pharmaceutical company and experiencing the inevitable corporate career angst. Concurrently, she was finding an interest in wine - visiting producers, attending consumer tastings and some <glossary term="WSET" title="1127">WSET</glossary> classes - to the point where she began teaching some of the courses. By 2012 she was also interning at wineries in <glossary term="Alentejo" title="1259">Alentejo</glossary> and elsewhere in Portugal. In 2013 she met Pedro Marques in attendance with his family <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> Vale da Capucha. From there, her interest in more honest, real wines took off. Ultimately, apart from the small things like a marriage and a family, the goal became to start a winemaking project together.</p>
<p>In the beginning, they purchased a small amount of grapes from farmers they knew worked their vineyards well to see the potential of the vines before entering a rental agreement. The project eventually evolved into their own wines under the Las Vedras (“the old ones”) label. Initally they started making the wine at Pedro’s family’s winery, but recently have moved their operation to a new <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary> in the village of Pero Negro. At first, the couple felt a bit isolated working in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Torres Vedras" title="1486">Torres Vedras</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> as it has a reputation for high production, poor quality <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticulture</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Case in point: besides themselves and Vale da Capucha, there isn't a single <glossary term="Organic" title="746">organic</glossary> producer in the <glossary term="DOC" title="1156">DOC</glossary> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Torres Vedras" title="1486">Torres Vedras</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> With the work they are doing, however, other like-minded producers are beginning to take note and interest in the area. </p>
<p><glossary term="Torres Vedras" title="1486">Torres Vedras</glossary>, roughly an hour north of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Lisbon" title="1262">Lisbon</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> lies close at the foot of the Serra de Montejunto, the highest ridge of mountains in the Estremedura region of <glossary term="Lisbon" title="1262">Lisbon</glossary>; these act as a barrier to some of the prevailing winds, which, depending on the annual conditions, can either benefit or harm the vineyard. From this area, Sónia and Pedro work multiple vineyard sites. With these windy conditions, the <glossary term="Pruning" title="834">pruning</glossary> system is traditionally a type of short<span class="zalup"><span><span>-</span><glossary term="Pruning" title="834">pruned</glossary> </span></span><glossary term="Gobelet" title="497">goblet</glossary> called Asas de Mosca (“fly wings”) for the shape of the tying.</p>
<p>Walking distance from the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> the couple's largest <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> lies within the <glossary term="DOC" title="1156">DOC</glossary> of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Torres Vedras" title="1486">Torres Vedras</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> in the village of Pero Negro. At 1.5 <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Hectare" title="523">ha</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> it is comprised of smaller <glossary term="Plot" title="1133">plots</glossary> within the larger <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> indicative of what the region was before commercial production invaded. A white and a red wine named after the village, Pero Negro, are produced from this land.</p>
<p>One of the smaller plots, a <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> that was not previously farmed very well, is planted with the whites of <glossary term="Fernão Pires" title="1235">Fernão Pires</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Palomino" title="1487">Palomino</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> known locally as Seminario and Malvasia Rei, and the reds of <glossary term="Castelão" title="1228">Castelão</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Tinta Miuda" title="1230">Tinta Miuda</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The paperwork on the <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> says it was planted in 1993, but the owner thinks it is actually 50-60 years old. They began the <glossary term="Conversion" title="332">conversion</glossary> to <glossary term="Organic" title="746">organic</glossary> in 2019.</p>
<p>From another proximate farmer, Sónia and Pedro purchase grapes that produce a wine called "Corriente". The soils here are <glossary term="Limestone" title="596">limestone</glossary> and <glossary term="Clay" title="301">clay</glossary> of oceanic origin and have a high <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="PH" title="783">PH</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The couple has begun sowing <glossary term="Cover Crop" title="1255">cover crops</glossary> here to increase organic matter, open up the soil and drive down the <glossary term="PH" title="783">PH</glossary> level. </p>
<p>The next <span class="zalup"><span> <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> in the village of Portela do Bispo -or Bishop’s Portal- lies in between the two <glossary term="DOC" title="1156">DOC</glossary>’s of <glossary term="Torres Vedras" title="1486">Torres Vedras</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Arruda" title="1488">Arruda</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> It is a two<font color="#7b143e"><b> <glossary term="Are" title="1208">ares</glossary></b></font> <glossary term="Plot" title="1133">plot</glossary> of 80 year-old vines planted mainly with <glossary term="Tinta Miuda" title="1230">Tinta Miuda</glossary> and a bit of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Castelão" title="1228">Castelão</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Syrah" title="1001">Syrah</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Touriga Nacional" title="1229">Touriga Nacional </glossary></span></span>and some unknown white grapes. The <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> faces north towards the Montejunto Serras and can be exposed to some high winds. It is more of the oceanic <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Clay" title="301">clay</glossary><span>-</span></span></span><glossary term="Limestone" title="596">limestone</glossary> soil planted in verry narrow rows, since it pre-dates <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Mechanization" title="645">mechanization</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> 2020 was the first <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary> from this <span class="zalup"><span> <glossary term="Plot" title="1133">plot</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> yielding one 500L <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrel</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Like in Pero Negro, Sónia and Pedro have begun planting <glossary term="Cover Crop" title="1255">cover crops</glossary> here as well.</p>
<p>The third <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> Dois Portos, or Two Ports, is in the <glossary term="DOC" title="1156">DOC</glossary> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Torres Vedras" title="1486">Torres Vedras</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Sónia and Pedro began working this <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> in 2022, making a small amount of wine that year. It is again a two<font color="#7b143e"><b> <glossary term="Are" title="1208">ares</glossary></b></font> <glossary term="Plot" title="1133">plot</glossary> planted mostly to <glossary term="Tinta Miuda" title="1230">Tinta Miuda</glossary> and surrounded by stone fruit trees.</p>
<p>Sónia and Pedro are generally striving not to add any <glossary term="Sulfites" title="993">sulfites</glossary> to the process, but are not dogmatic given the current varying conditions at <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvest</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> namely rain. Right now, they have not had to add any to any of the wines, even before <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottling</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Four wines are currently produced:</p>
<p><strong>Vino Branco Limo: </strong>from a <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> planted and worked by the late Antonio Carvalho of Casal Figueira and some friends in Bombarral a bit north of Pero Negro. 40% French <glossary term="Varietal" title="1071">varietals</glossary> that Antonio planted - <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Roussanne" title="878">Roussanne</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Marsanne" title="634">Marsanne</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Sémillon" title="1003">Semillon </glossary></span></span>and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Petit Manseng" title="779">Petit Manseng</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The rest is <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Fernão Pires" title="1235">Fernão Pires</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Arinto" title="1233">Arinto</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vital" title="1429">Vital</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Short <glossary term="Maceration" title="610">skin soak</glossary> then <glossary term="Pressing" title="827">pressed</glossary> into <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Stainless Steel" title="986">stainless vats</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
<p><strong>Pero Negro Branco:</strong> The fruit comes from a small lower <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> at the bottom of the hill. <glossary term="Fernão Pires" title="1235">Fernão Pires</glossary> and <glossary term="Palomino" title="1487">Palomino</glossary> (known locally as Malvasia Rei). One day <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Maceration" title="610">maceration</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Pressing" title="827">pressed</glossary> and <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">fermented</glossary> in <glossary term="Barrel" title="142">tonneau</glossary> of 500L, then two years <glossary term="Aging" title="74">aging</glossary> in the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrels</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
<p><strong>Vinho Tinto Corriente: </strong>a traditional blend of <glossary term="Castelão" title="1228">Castelão</glossary> and <glossary term="Tinta Miuda" title="1230">Tinta Miuda</glossary> from the aforementioned neighbor’s vineyard. The grapes are all <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Whole-Cluster" title="1124">whole-cluster</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> with half going into the <glossary term="Vat/Tank" title="1140">vat</glossary> in <glossary term="Whole-Cluster" title="1124">whole-bunches</glossary> and the rest <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Foot-Treading" title="458">foot trod</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> followed by a short five to seven day <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Maceration" title="610">maceration</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
<p><strong>Pero Negro Tinto:</strong> <glossary term="Castelão" title="1228">Castelão</glossary> (<glossary term="Whole-Cluster" title="1124">whole-cluster</glossary>) and <glossary term="Tinta Miuda" title="1230">Tinta Miuda</glossary> (<glossary term="De-stemming" title="378">destemmed</glossary> as they feel this variety’s stems are not pleasing). <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">Fermented</glossary> and <glossary term="Aging" title="74">aged</glossary> in 500L <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrel</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> In previous <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintages</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> the <glossary term="Aging" title="74">aging</glossary> lasted two years. Moving forward, this will change, as they think this wine should spend less time in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Wood" title="1126">wood</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> They inted the newer <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintages</glossary> to be fresher, but <glossary term="Tinta Miuda" title="1230">Tinta Miuda</glossary> will always need more time in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrel</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
Tanca Nica Producer Profile
<p>In an era of increasingly homogenized, <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="post-terroir" title="1474">post-terroir</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Natural WIne" title="708">natural-ish wines</glossary> that taste more of process than place, producers like Nicoletta Pecorelli and Francesco Ferreri feel like a throwback to a core, increasingly lost tenet of what drew us to this world of <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticulture</glossary> and winemaking in the first place. For us, the <glossary term="Natural WIne" title="708">natural wine</glossary> movement has always been a philosophy revolving around healthy grapes from a specific place and <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary> being transformed into the purest, most honest representation the farmer could achieve. We'd tasted the Tanca Nica wines and were already believers, but a recent visit confirmed Pecorelli and Ferreri's passion and dedication for the wines and island of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Moreover, it showed us just how unprecedented and ambitious the Tanca Nica project actually is.</p>
<p>Before diving into the intricacies of Tanca Nica itself, let us provide some context on <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary> and its <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticulture</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> A tiny island and Italian territory 55 miles southwest of <glossary term="Sicily" title="951">Sicily</glossary> and only 35 miles from Tunisia, it's most famous for its <glossary term="DOC" title="1156">DOC</glossary> capers and sweet <glossary term="Passito" title="765">passito</glossary> wine made from <glossary term="Zibibbo" title="1131">Zibibbo</glossary> grapes. While long known to be capable of making some of the world's most captivating wines, the weather conditions do not make it easy: because of constant <glossary term="Sirocco" title="1484">Sirocco</glossary> winds year round, the vines must be <glossary term="Training System" title="1039">trained</glossary> in <glossary term="Gobelet" title="497">gobelets</glossary> just a few centimeters off the ground to avoid breakage.</p>
<p>Despite being smack-dab in the Mediterranean, <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary> lacks any natural water resources and sees little rain. In such, circular basins - concas in <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantescan</glossary> dialect - are dug around each <glossary term="Gobelet" title="497">gobelet</glossary> to retain winter rainfall. A technique called 'pizzicatura', which lasts from bud break to <glossary term="Flowering" title="1179">flowering</glossary><span class="zalup"><span><span>,</span></span></span> involves manually breaking off the taller vine shoots to make sure that the vines grow within the concas, which then serve a double purpose of water retention and additional protection from the <glossary term="Sirocco" title="1484">Sirocco</glossary> winds. Finally, since vegetal competition is so intense, vines must be planted at low density, with traditional plantations measuring two meters by two meters. This <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Training System" title="1039">training system</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> dubbed Alberello Pantesco, dates back thousands of years and is so unique it actually received UNESCO world heritage status a few years ago! </p>
<p>World heritage or not, maintaining these vines requires painstaking manual labor for very little wine. Francesco estimates it takes 800 hours of work per <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> with <glossary term="Yield" title="1129">yields</glossary> averaging out to 20<glossary term="hl/ha" title="528">hl/h</glossary> in a normal <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> This is somewhat offset with the fact that <glossary term="Zibibbo" title="1131">Zibibbo</glossary> is one of the only varieties capable of bringing <glossary term="Second Growth" title="937">second-growth</glossary> grapes to full <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Maturation" title="639">maturity</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but not by much (<glossary term="Second Growth" title="937">second-growth</glossary> <glossary term="Yield" title="1129">yields</glossary> average 2. <span class="zalup"><span>5<glossary term="hl/ha" title="528">hl/h</glossary></span></span>). Most of the vines are very old, and its not uncommon for their roots to have dug over six meters into the <glossary term="Mother Rock" title="690">mother rock</glossary> to find their nutrients. For those willing to put in the time, effort and passion to see it through, the <glossary term="Concentration" title="324">concentration</glossary> and flavor in the grapes is exceptional. Sadly, it's no surprise that few if any are still up for the challenge. At its height, 5000 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> of vines were planted on <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary>'s 32.5 square miles; down to about 150 today, a good amount of those vines remain abandoned.</p>
<p>Ok, four paragraphs in and we can finally start talking about Nicoletta Pecorelli and Francesco Ferreri! Francesco is a <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantescan</glossary> native and Nicoletta is from <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Sardinia" title="917">Sardinia</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The two met in Milan by total chance: Nicoletta worked as a sales assistant in Turin and was in Milan that day to fly back to <glossary term="Sardinia" title="917">Sardinia</glossary> for the holidays! Once Francesco had finished his <glossary term="Enology" title="422">enology</glossary> studies in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Verona" title="1084">Verona</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> the couple moved to New Zealand to work at a company that produces <glossary term="Biodynamic Preparation" title="826">biodynamic preperation</glossary>s before returning to <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary> to start Tanca Nica in 2015. Francesco is from a long line of fisherman, but got the wine-bug in his teens working the family vines with his father and grandfather. While he'd always felt the desire to return to <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> he is quick to point out it wouldn't be possible without Nicoletta: </p>
<p><em>"Tanca Nica is OUR project, not mine. Without her this would never gotten off the ground or continue to exist."</em></p>
<p>Ferreri and Pecorelli work 3.5 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> spread over 15 <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcels</glossary> within nine <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Contrada" title="330">contradas</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> 50 <glossary term="Are" title="1208">ares</glossary> are from Francesco's family, the rest is rented from locals who don't want to see the vines go abandoned and an increasing amount of wealthy foreigners whose summer homes came with nearby vines. As they are the only <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary> actively looking for new <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcels</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> it is actually common for them to be offered <glossary term="Plot" title="1133">plots</glossary> to rent. The couple has used this to their advantage, trading off and dropping certain areas in search of the very best <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Terroir" title="1026">terroirs</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Most are isolated by woods and were abandoned before they took them over.</p>
<p>As Francesco explained during our visit, <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary> is a tiny island but has an incredible diversity in soil compositions, <glossary term="Microclimate" title="656">micro-climates</glossary> and <glossary term="Elevation" title="419">elevation</glossary> levels. As you will discover below, the Tanca Nica project is an unprecendented exploration and celebration of this diversity. Francesco elaborates:</p>
<p><em>"Every year we seek to capture the grapes’ life in the glass, in all of its phases (with regular tasting) until we put it in bottle. Especially regarding the </em><glossary term="Cru" title="1152"><em>cru</em></glossary><em> wines, we do not add a gram of </em><glossary term="Sulfites" title="993"><em>sulfur</em></glossary><em>, not because we are dogmatic in this discourse, but because we would like the wine to express all of itself with as much aroma as possible. For this reason, the </em><glossary term="Cru" title="1152"><em>cru</em></glossary><em> wines feel tight and closed off for a longer period than the other wines, needing at least a year in bottle (a thing we cannot do because we are still not able to keep in our storage to overcome the summer heat - but it is our objective for the future.)"</em></p>
<p>In <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantescan</glossary> dialect, the term "Tanca Nica" means small, hilly land cultivated and arranged in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Terrace" title="1022">terraces</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Each <glossary term="Terrace" title="1022">terraced</glossary> <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> - tanca in <span class="zalup"><span> <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantescan </glossary><span>-</span></span></span> is <glossary term="Vinification" title="1104">vinified</glossary> individually with various amounts of <glossary term="Maceration" title="610">maceration</glossary> - one day to three weeks - depending on the <glossary term="Phenols" title="784">phenolic</glossary> <glossary term="Maturation" title="639">maturity</glossary> of the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Most are pre-destined to go into Tanca Nica's largest production, "Soki Soki". This 100% <glossary term="Zibibbo" title="1131">Zibibbo</glossary> is sourced from 11 tancas within six <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Contrada" title="330">contradas</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> each averaging 30 <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Are" title="1208">ares</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> It serves as a snapshot of the island's most common soil composition: <glossary term="Volcanic" title="1117">volcanic</glossary> <glossary term="Sand" title="909">sands</glossary> of <glossary term="Pumice" title="1482">pumice</glossary> and <glossary term="lapilli" title="1461">lapilli</glossary> known locally as Soki Soki. Meant to be accessible in its youth, the wine pops with bright fruit and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Aromatic" title="120">aromatics</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
<p>At a whopping 1000 bottles, the second largest production is a <glossary term="Cuvée" title="363">cuvée</glossary> called "Terra Forte". Produced from two tancas of very old vines, here the <glossary term="Zibibbo" title="1131">Zibibbo</glossary> grows on "terra forte" soils composed of <glossary term="Sand" title="909">sandy</glossary> <glossary term="Clay" title="301">clay</glossary> from degraded <glossary term="Basalt" title="145">basalt</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Obsidian" title="1483">obsidian</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The result is a much more powerful, structured expression of <glossary term="Zibibbo" title="1131">Zibibbo</glossary> that, while keeping the grapes' trademark aromatic qualities, is more serious and age-worthy. </p>
<p>Next are four <glossary term="Cru" title="1152">cru</glossary> wines, all single-tanca expressions of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Zibibbo" title="1131">Zibibbo</glossary><span>:</span></span></span></p>
<p><em>"Since 2019, we have focused our attention on four </em><glossary term="Plot" title="1133"><em>plots</em></glossary><em> which, due to their characteristics, we consider the "</em><glossary term="Grand Cru" title="501"><em>Grand Crus</em></glossary><em>" of the island. This type of work can only be done if the soil is alive, as the </em><glossary term="Microflora" title="658"><em>microfauna</em></glossary><em> interacts with the roots of the plants in a symbiotic exchange and are able to read the characteristics of the soil perfectly. To keep the wine as lively and faithful as possible to the territory, we don't add even a gram of </em><glossary term="Sulfites" title="993"><em>sulfur dioxide</em></glossary><em>. The label colors highlight the color of the terrain profile:</em></p>
<p><em>- <strong>Yellow label (from the Cufurà district)</strong>: a </em><glossary term="Plot" title="1133"><em>plot</em></glossary><em> made up of yellow </em><glossary term="Pumice" title="1482"><em>pumice</em></glossary><em>. The wine is always delicate in its aromas and structure, more immediate than the other three labels. The scents reflect the maquis: alyssum and wild thyme.</em></p>
<p><em>- <strong>Gray label (from in the Rukia district)</strong>: a </em><glossary term="Plot" title="1133"><em>plot</em></glossary><em> made up of gray </em><glossary term="Pumice" title="1482"><em>pumice</em></glossary><em> with a layer of volcanic </em><glossary term="Mother Rock" title="690"><em>mother rock</em></glossary><em> just 40 cm deep. Among the </em><glossary term="Cru" title="1152"><em>crus</em></glossary><em>, it is the one that needs the most time to express itself: at the beginning it is </em><glossary term="Reduction" title="847"><em>reduced</em></glossary><em>, with a slight </em><glossary term="Mouse" title="693"><em>mouse</em></glossary><em>, but immediately after the summer it becomes complex and acquires an incredible depth. This is the windiest district of the island and I like to think that this is also felt in the wine.</em></p>
<p><em>- <strong>Red label (from the San Marco district):</strong> a </em><glossary term="Plot" title="1133"><em>plot</em></glossary><em> made up of red </em><glossary term="Sand" title="909"><em>sand</em></glossary><em> rich in </em><glossary term="Iron" title="547"><em>iron</em></glossary><em> and aluminium. The wine naturally tends to </em><glossary term="Oxidation" title="754"><em>oxidize</em></glossary><em>, so much so that it can seem like a raisin base (that is, a dry raisin wine without sugar). Grapes that ripen near the sea, the wine absorbs all the summer heat.</em></p>
<p><em>- <strong>Black label (from the Khaggiar district):</strong> a </em><glossary term="Plot" title="1133"><em>plot</em></glossary><em> made up of black </em><glossary term="Basalt" title="145"><em>basalt</em></glossary><em>, a very hard and heavy rock. The wine resembles the red label, but is much more austere."</em></p>
<p>Pecorelli and Ferreri also produce a micro<span class="zalup"><span><span>-</span><glossary term="Cuvée" title="363">cuvée</glossary> </span></span>of <glossary term="Catarratto" title="249">Catarratto</glossary> called "Kaffefi". It is named after the contrada where 40 to 80 year old vines grow within a single tanca. It is the only white wine that sees no <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Maceration" title="610">maceration</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> though it does go through a long, 24 hour <glossary term="Pressing" title="827">press</glossary> to give it extra structure. </p>
<p>Next in the lineup is "Firri Firri", a <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="clairet" title="1467">clairet</glossary><span>-</span></span></span>style <glossary term="Blend" title="168">blend</glossary> of 85% <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Catarratto" title="249">Catarratto</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> 10% <glossary term="Pignatello" title="797">Pignatello</glossary> and 5% <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Ansonica/Inzolia" title="1323">Inzolia</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> It's principally sourced from two <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcels</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> though random vines of <glossary term="Pignoletto" title="798">Pignoletto</glossary> are <glossary term="Co-plantation" title="309">co-planted</glossary> in many of the tancas and end up in the final wine. These varieties have historically always been planted along the walls of the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Terrace" title="1022">terraces</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
<p>Only one "real" red wine is made, and in tiny quantities. It's called "Nivuro Nostrale", and is made by <glossary term="Vinification" title="1104">vinifying</glossary> 97 plants (count em!) of 100+ year old <glossary term="Pignatello" title="797">Pignatello</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Alicante" title="90">Alicante</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> These grapes come from <em>"the most intimate and least known part of our island." </em></p>
<p>Two <glossary term="Pétillant Naturel" title="778">petillants naturels</glossary> are produced if the <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary> permits. "Ghirbi Bianco" is 100% <glossary term="Second Growth" title="937">second-growth</glossary> <glossary term="Zibibbo" title="1131">Zibbibo</glossary> grapes and "Ghirbi Rosato" is from seven <glossary term="Indigenous" title="1139">autochthonous</glossary> <glossary term="Varietal" title="1071">varieties</glossary> that grow under the walls of the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Terrace" title="1022">terraces</glossary><span>:</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Catarratto" title="249">Catarratto</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Alicante" title="90">Alicante</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pignatello" title="797">Pignatello</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Ansonica/Inzolia" title="1323">Inzolia</glossary> Imperiale and <glossary term="Ansonica/Inzolia" title="1323">Inzolia</glossary> Minuta, <glossary term="Grillo" title="511">Grillo</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Carignan" title="237">Carignan</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
<p><em>"</em><glossary term="Vinification" title="1104"><em>Vinifying</em></glossary><em> them as an </em><glossary term="Methode Ancestrale" title="1311"><em>ancestral method</em></glossary><em> is a way to enhance these grapes which are often not </em><glossary term="Harvest" title="521"><em>harvested</em></glossary><em>. The sparkling wines are not produced every year."</em></p>
<p>Finally, this is <glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary> so there has to be a <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Passito" title="765">passito</glossary><span>!</span></span></span> Dubbed "Passulata", Francesco describes it as:<em> "the wine that best represents </em><glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759"><em>Pantelleria</em></glossary><em>. Making this wine is an immeasurable act of love towards our island which, like Nature, knows how to be very generous, but also hard, tiring, unpredictable and ever-changing, different with each season."</em></p>
<p>Over the years, we have had the honor of working with some of the most innovative and trailblazing producers in Europe. In our estimation, what binds them has always been a passion for expressing a sense of place, with <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Organic" title="746">organics</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Hand Harvesting" title="520">hand-harvesting</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Native Yeast" title="538">native yeasts</glossary> and <glossary term="Minimal Intervention" title="664">minimal intervention</glossary> serving as tools, a means to an end. As the promotion of <glossary term="Natural WIne" title="708">natural wine</glossary> continues devolving into big business, marketing gimmicks and pigeon-holing a one-funk-fits-all visual/flavor profile, it's both reassuring and a breath of fresh air to meet a couple as dedicated, humble, passionate and visionary as Nicoletta and Francesco.</p>
<p><em>"We don't do this for fame or recognition: we do it for the island. None of the rules I learned in school applied to <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> I didn't like <glossary term="Zibibbo" title="1131">Zibibbo</glossary> at first because it didn't conform to what I'd been taught. I had to learn everything with the help of my father and hands-on experience. This liberated me and forged a path that made me love the grape and its place on <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pantelleria" title="759">Pantelleria</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> We know our wines are expensive, but we promise this is not speculation and nothing else but the estimated value of our work." </em></p>
<p>For even more in-depth information and photos, please read our visit recap from November 2023 (coming soon)</p>