Introducing DI GIOVANNA

THE WINES

2021 Gerbino Bianco

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2021 Gerbino Rosato

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2020 Gerbino Rosso

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2021 Vurría Grillo

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2021 Vurría Nerello Rosato

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2020 Vurría Nerello Mascalese

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AB CSPC/SKU # 874479

2020 DRY MILLESIMATO

Terre Siciliane IGP

A multifaceted white giving bright, pretty aromas of peach skins, green apple, mediterranean herbs, and citrus followed by a surprising palate that twists and turns with volcanic tea-like bitter and savoury notes of green peppercorn, plum skins, and a smokey salinity over a core of apple, bergamot, and lemon. Organic, hand picked, destemmed and pressed ever so softly, then cool-fermented and aged six months in stainless steel on the lees, this is a white that does better than pair with fish and vegetable entrées, it elevates them with its exciting complexity, seasoning the palate with its enigmatic contrast of feisty fruit and savoury nuance.

• Varietal/Blend: 70% Chardonnay, 15% Grillo, 15% Viognier
  
• Fermentation: De-stemmed grapes are softly pressed (3-4 hour pressing), fermentation in stainless steel.
  
• Ageing: Aged for 6 months on the fine lees in stainless steel.
  
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Grapes from historic estate family vineyards 'Gerbino' and 'Paradiso' in Contessa Entellina DOC, 30 year-old vines located high hillside vineyards, organically grown, aggressive green harvesting, zero chemicals, single guyot, hand harvested — each variety harvested individually at ideal ripeness.
  
• ABV: 12.5%
  
• Produced Cases: 2,500
  

AB CSPC/SKU # 874480

2021 ‘Gerbino’ Rosato

Sicilia DOC

Nero d’Avola is the classic Sicilian red table wine, the Merlot of the Island, capable of making gluttonous, fruity, simple table wine when farmed for yield while also capable of profound dynamism and singularity when farmed for quality. I honestly did not expect what I encountered when I put my nose in this rosé. Gunther & Klaus Di Giovanna have made this, their version of Nero d’Avola rosé since 2004, and have aimed for a serious wine from day one, eschewing the simple chuggability rosé was known for, especially then. The Gerbino vineyard’s old vines, high elevation, and volcanic nuance have given this wine a strange and inviting aroma of mint, cucumber, and fresh pressed strawberry leading into a palate of terrific intensity and salty depth, with a joyful fruit profile of candied raspberry sans sweetness, bolstered by a darjeeling like minerality. What a pleasure to drink!

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Nero d'Avola
• Fermentation: Soft pressing for 3 hours, fermentation in stainless steel tank.
• Ageing: Aged for 6 months on the fine lees in stainless steel.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Grapes from historic estate family mountain-side vineyard 'San Giacomo' in Sambuca di Sicilia DOC, organically grown, aggressive green harvesting, zero chemicals, single guyot, hand harvested — each variety harvested individually at ideal ripeness.
• ABV: 12.5%
• Produced Cases: 1,250

AB CSPC/SKU # 874482

2020 ‘Gerbino’ Rosso

Terre Siciliane IGP

Gerbino Rosso is a rich and sunny Sicilian blend that speaks its sunny territory to life with dark fruited Syrah at its core and red fruited Nero d’Avola and Merlot playing the harmony. Hand harvested and carefully selected bunches fermented in stainless with ten days’s maceration, it’s an indigo dense wine full of wild berries, plums, grapes, prunes, and roasty coffee notes. The clean and expressive nose give way to a palate structured by firm tannins and rich, ripe fruit, a perfect pairing for roasts and a certified crowd pleaser.

• Varietal/Blend: 70% Syrah, 15% Nero d'Avola, 15% Merlot
• Fermentation: Fermentation in stainless steel in contact with the skins for 10 days, then softly pressed
• Ageing: Aged for 18 months in stainless steel.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Grapes from historic estate family vineyards 'Gerbino' and 'Paradiso' and 'Miccina' in Contessa Entellina DOC, high hillside vineyards, organically grown, aggressive green harvesting, zero chemicals, single guyot, hand harvested — each variety harvested individually at ideal ripeness.
• ABV: 13.5%
• Produced Cases: 2,500

AB CSPC/SKU # 874483

2021 ‘Vurría’ Grillo

Sicilia DOC

A serious Grillo is an uncommon find, being Western Sicily's most planted white grape and best known for Marsala production, it is often planted for bulk growth creating a lovely and endlessly quaffable table white. This Grillo, however, is on a different level. With yields reduced, farmed carefully on volcanic tuff at high elevations and hand harvested when perfectly ripened, the results are otherworldly. On the nose you
are surprised by a menagerie of notes not commonly found in concert: various melons, crispy snap pea, nectarines and apricots, and fennel fronds and seeds. When it hits the palate its rocking acidity testifies to its situation over a half kilometre above sea level, drenched in notes of lemon drop, white table grapes, brooding blood orange and blood orange zest, seashells, hint of nori. This is everything one hopes for from Sicily — wines that will broaden the scope of flavour and experience.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Grillo
• Fermentation: Soft pressing for 8 hours, fermentation in stainless steel tank.
• Ageing: Aged for 6 months on the fine lees in stainless steel.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Grapes from historic estate family vineyard 'Paradiso' in Contessa Entellina DOC, 30 year-old vines located high hillside vineyards on limestone and volcanic tuff, situated over 1500 feet above sea level, organically grown, aggressive green harvesting, zero chemicals, single guyot, hand harvested — each variety harvested individually at ideal ripeness.
• ABV: 12.5%
• Produced Cases: 1,667
  

AB CSPC/SKU # 874484

2021 ‘Vurría’ Nerello Rosato

Contessa Entellina DOC

For the Italian wine obsessives, a Nerello Mascalese rosé is a rare and much prized treat. Already a light skinned and delicate variety, it is already a perfect candidate for elevated, serious, mineral driven rosé. Di Giovanna's rendition bewitches. At first scent you are greeted with notes of grilled watermelon, crushed strawberry, and savoury herbs. The palate is like fresh watermelon with maldon salt, basil, pickled strawberry, and navel orange. A stunning wine.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Nerello Mascalese
• Fermentation: Soft pressing for 3 hours with skin contact, fermentation in stainless steel tank.
• Ageing: Aged for 6 months on the fine lees in stainless steel.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Grapes from historic estate family vineyard 'Miccina' in Contessa Entellina DOC, 30 year-old vines located high hillside vineyards on volcanic tuff, situated over 1600 feet above sea level, organically grown, aggressive green harvesting, zero chemicals, single guyot, hand harvested — each variety harvested individually at ideal ripeness.
• ABV: 12.5%
• Produced Cases: 1,667
  

AB CSPC/SKU # 874487

2020 ‘Vurría’ Nerello Mascalese

Contessa Entellina DOC

This cult-famous indigenous Sicilian variety, Nerello Mascalese, needs no introduction for those who adore it. It hails from the North-East of the island and was introduced to Sambuca di Sicilia by Gunther & Klaus's father Aurelio Di Giovanna in 1968.
The dry, windy climate of this new home in West Sicily and the mineral-rich soil lends the wine a beautiful aromatic composition that is expressed on the nose with hints of rose petal and dried cherry and third-wave coffee followed by notes of smoke and white pepper. On the palate it is a shade darker than the Etna examples with the same dazzling acidity, showing cherry, blueberry compote, and savoury, mineral rich notes redolent of real iced tea, ringing out with a long, clean, harmonious finish.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Nerello Mascalese
• Fermentation: De-stemmed then fermented in stainless steel in contact with the skins for 7 days, then softly pressed
• Ageing: Aged for 18 months in stainless steel.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Grapes from the highest parcel of historic estate family vineyard 'Paradiso' in Contessa Entellina DOC, 30 year-old vines located high hillside vineyards on limestone and volcanic tuff, situated over 1500 feet above sea level, organically grown, aggressive green harvesting, zero chemicals, single guyot, hand harvested — each variety harvested individually at ideal ripeness.
• ABV: 13.0%
• Produced Cases: 1,250



Di Giovanna was founded in 1860 and passed down through five generations to current caretakers Gunther & Klaus di Giovanna, bold visionaries that have grown an international following over these past 25 years, spearheading organic viticulture in Sicily with their 1997 certification (one of the first on the island to do so) and standing by their indigenous varieties.

Di Giovanna’s poly-farm extends almost 100 hectares and is composed of 65 hectares of vineyards, 14 hectares of olive groves, and 21 hectares of wheat fields and forests. The family’s five distinct vineyards lay in the heart of the Terre Siciliane appellation, falling into two sub-DOCs on either side of the ancient Monte Genuardo, a government protected nature reserve and oasis of biodiversity.

The Contessa Entellina DOC hosts their 'Miccina', 'Gerbino’, and 'Paradiso' vineyards, planted on slopes 350-480 meters above sea level with quintessentially Sicilian soils of volcanic tuff intermingled with limestone rich clays. Their even higher elevation ‘San Giacomo' and 'Fiuminello' vineyards (680-830m) climb the Eastern slope of Monte Genuardo and surround the family’s cellars in the DOC of Sambuca di Sicilia.

The elevation of their 350-830m vineyards are an important check to Sicily’s hot summers and creeping climate change, so much so that many of their plots receive snow over the winter months. In terms of farming choices, Gunther and Klaus and their parents have been about quality over quantity long before the market for Sicilian wine could command anything more than table wine prices. To this day, Di Giovanna employs aggressive green harvesting (up to 55% of the crop!) to limit yields and amplify quality. This emphasis continues in the cellars where they only keep their free run juice from glacially slow pressings, selling every drop of their press juice to bulk wineries and distilleries, keeping only the best for their estate cuvées.



It is no surprise then how these wines stunned and captivated us when we first encountered them. This quality shines through in both their international and indigenous varieties. Their Syrah and Chardonnay benefit so beautifully from their elevation and the intense drainage of their sloping and porous soils, simultaneously collecting that volcanic je ne sais quoi that defines Sicilian terroir. But we are especially grateful for their steadfast commitment to their heritage vines, keeping them in when most serious growers were replacing them with more marketable French varieties. Their tea-like Grillo’s, bewitching Nerello Mascalese’s, and juicy Nero d’Avola’s are so savoury and bright and exciting, offering flavor profiles that feel both ancient and new at once. These are phoenix wines taking flight from Sicily’s magma soils.