Nawàri 2008 - Terre Siciliane I.G.T. - Duca di Salaparuta

The House of Duca di Salaparuta was established in 1824 by Giuseppe Alliata, Duke of Salaparuta, a passionate connoisseur of good wine. He wanted to produce delicate, elegant, “French style” wines, from the grapes of his own estate located in Casteldaccia near Palermo in Sicily. The company’s first wines were born being an absolute innovation compared to the island’s production at that time. Since then the company gradually expanded by purchasing additional land, wineries and wine companies, and today constitute the largest private winery corporation in Sicily.

In 2002 Duca di Salaparuta acquired the Vajasindi Estate on the slopes of Mount Etna in the contrada Passopisciaro in the township of Castiglione di Sicilia near Catania. The Estate consists of 11 hectares of land divided into two terraces, one at about 700 metres altitude, the other at 620 metres.

The position of the winery on the northern slopes of the Volcano, contributes to a unique microclimate that makes it particularly suited to the cultivation of red grape vines. This is a complex landscape in which the volcanic soil endows with unique characteristics, the soil is dark brown and is rendered soft and porous due to the presence of a large amount of small pumice stone fragments, providing a high draining capacity. The lower summer temperatures on the northern slope lead to cooler wines and lowers their alcohol gradation, however; they also guarantee wines that are more balanced, harmonious and elegant. All these factors led Duca di Salaparuta to experiment with the cool-climate grape Pinot Noir at this southern location.

The Pinot Noir grapes for Nawàri red wine comes from vines growing in the Alcantara valley at the Vajasindi estate at an altitude of 600 to 800 m. The grapes were hand-harvested fully ripened. Following de-stemming of the grapes the maceration and fermentation took place for 6-8 days in stainless steel tanks. The wine aged for about 15 months in quality French, fine-grained oak barriques. After bottling the wine matured for at least six months in the cellar at controlled temperature to develop the bouquet.