Feudo Maccari Winery

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

This winery is located in the heart of the Mediterranean region, more precisely in the Noto Valley which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002. This valley contains eight late Baroque cities of rare beauty: Caltagirone, Catania, Militello Val di Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo, Acreide, Ragusa, and Scicli.

This area is lashed by hot Sirocco and the north wind that does not seem to frighten daring prickly pears ( Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. ), or the resilient olive trees (Olea europaea L. ).

In this very place, on the rocks and on the beaches of its southernmost edge, Antonio Moretti set up his new business, after a successful experience as a textile entrepreneur; he is, in fact, the former owner of Tenuta Sette Ponti on the hills of Arezzo, who decided to produce Nero d’Avola wine in the 1990s, guided and supported by Gilbert Bouvet, the great French nurseryman who has dedicated a life to cuttings and rootstocks. Bouvet had no doubts about Antonio’s choice: there was no better area in Sicily.

Today, the company owns some 395 acres of very fertile land (123 acres reserved to vines) with a rather dark colour, due to the volcanic activity of Etna; the highest spot of this estate features a spectacular terrace on the Ionian Sea and on the natural oasis of Vendìcari.

The different types of soils, black and sandy or white and calcareous, as well as the differences in altitude and exposure to the sun, help create wines with complex notes and also rebalance the different vegetative trends of the plants.

This company has always been focused on a specific indigenous vine trained with the traditional sapling system for grape cultivation: it’s actually one of the oldest and most natural techniques of high-density vine farming, among the hedges of prickly pears, and the shade offered by carob plants (Ceratonia siliqua L. ), olive groves, almond trees, (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) “DAWebb”), palm trees and lemon groves ( Citrus limon (L.) “Osbeck”).

This very sapling system dates back to the first Greek settlements when colonists brought this highly effective tradition to Sicily; some of the main reasons for the success of this type of cultivation come from to the versatility of its use, even in terroirs with different climatic conditions, although it is more suitable for the hottest areas, because it allows the best ventilation and lighting at all hours of the day. Furthermore, thanks to its proximity to the ground, it also allows a perfect heat exchange for the ideal ripening of the fruit. In this latter phase, the leaves cover the clusters, which are thus subject to much less oxidation.
The downside of this technique, however, is its management cost, much higher than more common sapling systems.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

Contatti

Strada Provinciale, 19- Noto-Pachino, km 13,5 - Noto(SR)

0931 596894

http://www.feudomaccari.it

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