Region: Sicily, Italy
Varietal: 60% Chardonnay, 40% Carricante
Tasting Notes: “Pale yellow with green hints. Strong, rich, broad, and fruity with wafts of apple and exotic fruits. Like a tropical breeze for the olfactory senses. Dry harmonic palate. Rightly acid, with a finish of anise and almond.”-Gulfi
Pairing: Thai seafood stew, or any Thai seafood dish really. Shellfish, and white fish dressed with the typical herbs and spices of this region partner well with the tropical notes and dry-off dry palate of this Sicilian wine. Put a bottle of Gulfi in the fridge, and whip up this Fragrant Thai-Style Clams in Coconut Broth By David Tanis. The two were made for each other.
About: “Gulfi is a wine producer based just north of the town of Chiaramonte in southeastern Sicily. Vito Catania wanted to continue the work on vines and olive oil initiated by his family in Sicily, more than three generations ago. His passion for wine and his homeland, Sicily, led him to develop this prestigious vineyard in his native country: Chiaramonte Gulfi on Monti Iblei in the province of Ragusa. Since 1996, he added innovation to the inherited tradition of his ancestors, from a long process of massal selection of vines to an extremely meticulous attention to the culture of its vines to create unique and prestigious Crus.
The vineyard, which begins precisely in Monti Iblei, in the region of Ragusa – the area of the traditional Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG – extending to the lower part of Sicily, Pachino, specifically in the DOC Eloro. These vines give birth to 4 Grands Crus of Nero d’Avola – as the French people could simply and clearly call them – with one unique difference: the terroir. It ends in Randazzo, the Etna DOC on the northern slope of the volcano, with more than 100 years old vines planted at an altitude of 850 meters. Grapes planted are Nerello Mascalese and some Nerello Cappuccio.”
