In his book Italy in a Wine Glass, Marc Millon refers to the Donnafugata Ben Ryè Passito di Pantelleria as
... a glorious, wondrous expression of the fermented grape: at once concentrated and complex, yet at the same time fresh and exhilarating. The bouquet is intensely fragrant, with aromas of dried apricots, candied citrus zest and notes of Mediterranean thyme and rosemary. The considerable sweetness that comes from the dried grapes is balanced by fresh acidity and minerality. The finsh is long and persistent, truly a vino da meditazione.
This wine is the result of heroic viticulture surrounding the Zibibbo variety grown on the island of Pantelleria. Zibibbo is the name given to Muscat of Alexandria grapes grown on Pantelleria. I continue my coverage of the Muscat family with a review of this region, the variety, and the wine (s).
Pantelleria
"Pantelleria is a tiny volcanic island located in the Sicilian Channel between mainland Sicily and the coast of North Africa. Its history of habitation mirrors that of Sicily, the native peoples taken over successively by Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese and more. It is a harsh and windswept land with severe climatic conditions" (Millon).
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| Pantelleria (Source: en-academic.com) |
The island, according to vinipantelleria.doc.it, "... has developed a strong peasant tradition and culture over time" with three main habitation centers (Pantelleria, Scauri, Khamma) and numerous other smaller districts. Its landscape "is a rugged mix of black lava shapes, dramatic and jagged cliffs that descend straight into the sea, hot springs, a thermal lake, the occasional palm tree, terraced farms, and ... densely packed aromatic shrubs" (dreamofitaly.com). These "wild and uncontaminated" landscapes alternate with thousands of kilometers of dry stone walls, constructed by humans over an extended period of time.
The climate is subtropical Mediterranean with mild, low-rain (460 mm/year) winters but it is dry and hot during the growing season with strong, warm winds blowing in off the North African coast. The original Arab name for the island was Bint al-Riyāh (Daughter of the Winds) in honor of those strong winds. Constant sea breezes moderate the daytime summer temperatures.
The volcanic-origin sandy soils are deep, loose, and mineral-endowed.
Zibibbo
Zibibbo is the Sicilian name give to the Muscat of Alexandria variety. This triple-threat (wine, table and raisin) cultivar has been grown in the Mediterranean area for thousands of years and exhibits relatively insignificant genetic variation over that time. The origin of the variety is unclear but the official name suggests some association with the Nile Delta -- and the ancient city of Alexandria -- while the name Zibibbo (Arabic origin word that translates to "dried grape") attests to its use by the Arabs during their occupation of the area.
Two main Zibibbo biotypes have been identified in Pantelleria and they are characterized in the figure below.
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| Zibibbo biotypes: A -- Golden-yellow, loose bunches; higher alcohol potential; milder acidity; wines with solid structure and great longevity. B -- Green berries; medium compact bunches; lower-alcohol, higher-acidity, and thinner-structured wines (Source: cantinebarbera.it) |
Outside of the biotype differences, Zibibbo grapes contain high levels of terpenes and "super concentrations" of linalool, geraniol, and nerol, compounds responsible for the wine's intense aroma. The grape is resilient in that, while sensitive to extreme humidity, it is resistant to botrytis, drought, and hot climates. It is susceptible to downy mildew and highly susceptible to powdery mildew.
Viticulture
A typical Pantelleria vineyard landscape is illustrated below and the elements of the viticultural environment are immediately following.
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| Typical Pantelleria landscape with vines (Source: wikipedia.com) |
The viticultural scheme, as inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural List of Humanity (2014), is called Alberello Pantesco and is, according to donnafugata.it, both a creative and a sustainable practice:
Creative because founded on the 'hollow', the cradle dug in the soil to receive the vine, protect it from the wind, nourish it with the night-time humidity that is collected and not lost. Creative because the pruning system makes the plant grow horizontally and almost creeping along the ground, and therefore able to survive the constant wind that blows on the island. Sustainable because its cultivation is entirely manual, because the terraces sustained by dry stone walls delineate the landscape of Pantelleria and defend it from erosion.
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| Typical head-trained bush vines of Pantelleria (Source: vinipantelleria.doc.it) |
The Wines
The various Pantelleria DOC wine styles are shown in the chart below.
Sweet Wines
Grapes are harvested -- by hand -- early for dry and sparkling wines and late for the Passito wines.
A typical Pantelleria Passito wine has two components: a base wine (or fresh must) and the raisinated grape. "Grapes closer to the water achieve more ripeness and serve as the best candidates for raisination."
Grapes for raisination are dried for between 2 to 4 weeks on mats under the sun in open-air racks (stenditoio), or in drying tunnels or tents (serre). The hot, dry winds that are a feature of the environment aid in this drying process; 8 lbs of fresh grapes yields 2 lbs of dried grapes.
For wine assembly, the raisinated grape is pressed then added to the base wine/fresh must. The pressing splits the grape, allowing the release of acid, sugars, and aroma and flavor compounds into the base when added.
Dry Wines
The first Pantelleria dry wine was introduced by Marco Di Bartolo in the early 1980s but today every major producer has a dry wine in its arsenal.
In the case of Donnafugata, its Lighea dry wine is the base wine of its Passito blend. Di Bartolo currently has two dry wines on offer. The first is Pietranera, the first ever dry wine on the island. This wine is vinified and aged in stainless steel. The second wine -- Intiger -- is fermented in used barrels and amphorae and spends some time on the skins. It is aged on the lees.
Most producers source grapes for dry or base wines from higher elevations in order to ensure the highest possible levels of freshness and acidity.
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