From one volcano to another

There is many good wine in Italy produced near Volcanoes. Etna is a volcano in Sicily and a grape that is grown there is the grape Carricante. The wine from this grape reminds me of Riesling wines. The wine Le Sabbie Dell'Etna from producer Firriato contains the grapes Carricante and Catarratto. It seem that Caricante gives that wine structure and minerality while the Catarratto gives it freshness. A very good wine and I like very much.

The wine Falanghina Del Sanno is produced by Lorenzo Nifo Sarrapochiello. This area is situated approximately 30 km from the volcano Vesuvio. It is made 100% of the grape Falanghina and this grape is mostly grown in the Campania region in Italy. It is quite strong with a taste of of tropical fruits, nectarines and citrus. It has a quite long finish. I like it and it would go very well with seafood.

From a red wine in the north to red wine in Sicily

The red wines of the Veneto region is something I will try to discover more of in the future. One small step is the wine I had in the weekend. It is called Mattarana Valpolicella Ripasso from 2012. Where Mattarana is the producer. Valpolicella is an area in the Venoto region and Ripasso is the production method. In Ripasso the grape juice is fermented together with the pressings from the Amarone production to give the Ripasso wine  stronger touch.
This wine has an alcohol level of 14% and the wines colour is deep red. The taste is very good, almost red fruits such as cherries and with some herbs. Not as much tannins as one would expect.

Firriato is a producer in Italy. They have estates all over Sicily such as near Trapani for example. Altavilla delle Corte is a wine made out of Nero D'Avola and Caberet Sauvignon grapes. And the grapes comes from the Borgo Guarini estate outside of Trapani. It is of vintage 2010 and later vintages of this product has only Cabernet Sauvignon. It smells good and the colour is very dark. The taste is good. Strong red cherries with some herbs and tannins in the back. Very nice wine.
Altavilla were one of the first Norman families to settle in Sicily and from this family comes the name of this wine.

 Trapani is a very nice town and is highly recommended to visit the town. The old town in Trapani is very beautiful and lovely situated along the water. This is how Trapani looks from the old town of Erice.

.