Rhys to grow Carricante?

Apparently Kevin is part owner of a Sicialian winery that makes this classic wine and is contemplating growing it here?
Doesn’t look like these types of wines are easy to find near where I live. Suggestions?

(total commercial disclaimer here)

I sell an Etna Bianco from a winery called Benanti that I find genuinely exciting.

Here is the link to the article in the NYT.

The answer is “not exactly” but yes. For the last 6+ years we have been working on a new project called Aeris which will be distinct from Rhys. Aeris will be focused on Italian varietals grown on great soils in California that also have similar climates to the best Italian regions. (FWIW, climate is a large topic and matching Italy’s is not easy as truly similar climates are not common in the New World).
One of the grapes we are most excited about is a white grape called Carricante. IMO, Carricante is one of the world’s great white wine grapes but the acreage planted to it, even in Sicily, has been infinitesimal. While it has been locally known to be a great grape, thus the Etna Bianco and Etna Bianco Superiore requirements for minimum percentages of Carricante, there have only been one or two examples of 100% Carricante produced over the last 20 years. The most notable has been Benanti Pietramarina. At it’s best, this wine has many of the elements of a great Trimbach Riesling or White Burgundy. It is ageworthy and complex with great terroir expression. It also excels in a warmer climate with terrific acidity. For these reasons we believe it could make great white wine in some of California’s better soils in warmer climates.
We are still a couple of years away from offering wine and in the meantime I can really only recommend Benanti Pietramarina or I Vignieri’s Vigna de Milo as examples of 100% Carricante. Many other Etna Biancos are produced but virtually all have meaningful percentages of Cataratto or Minella (both are table grapes) and I feel these grapes greatly diminish the quality of Carricante.
Also as part of Aeris, we are making a 100% Carricante from the small area of Etna designated Etna Bianco Superiore. This area is located on the eastern slope of the Etna volcano around the town of Milo. Our initial wines are made from old vines grown by the mayor of the town and we have planted (in partnership with Salvo Foti) more acreage located in this prime spot for Carricante. This wine will also will be sold as part of our Aeris project in a couple of years.

Very exciting, Kevin

Okay, good. I feel good about my recommendation, then. [wow.gif]

Very cool! Love the few times I’ve tried Carricante.

I found a signup for the Aeris list at http://www.aeriswines.com/ for those who might be interested.

Signed up, of course. :slight_smile:

This sounds very cool. Any plans to make a Santa Cruz Mountains Nerello Mascalese or Fiano?

Very interested in this project!

Terre Nere’s Cuvèe delle vigne niche Etna Bianco D.O.C. is also 100% Carricante and may be easier to find for some folks. I have a few bottles but haven’t tried one yet so this is not a recommendation. If one can find the Benanti grab it as its a great wine.

Anthony,
In addition to Milo, we have recorded and studied the climate near Randazzo (home of great Nerello Mascalese) at 700m of elevation. We learned that Nerello Mascalese needs more heat than we have in the Santa Cruz Mtns in an average year. Interestingly, Randazzo’s climate is quite close to Barolo.

For geeks, here is a chart of monthly highs, lows and means for Randazzo compared to Monforte. Remember that the growing season is late March through early October.
Randazzo-Monforte.png

That is fascinating, Kevin.

I can’t wait to taste your Carricante.

I signed up. I sign up for lots of mailing lists but don’t buy from most of them when push comes to shove.

(Disclaimer: We sell Benanti wines). We had the pleasure of hosting Salvino Benanti at our bar a few months back, and the white wines are exceptional – especially the Pietramarina. Their “Rovitello” red (Mascalese/ Cappucio) is by far the best Sicilian red I’ve had.

Kevin - obviously the cat’s out of the bag. Really excited about following this project.

Interesting. Will be curious to see what initial pricing is.

Agreed (with the same disclaimer).

To add to Kevin’s note about 100% Carricante, both the Pietramina and the less expensive Biancodicaselle are composed entirely from that grape, at least in 2013 for the latter.