The Fullest Expression of Sicilian Wines

Article and Photo by Frank Mangio

If you read this column and others in your search for the next “big thing” in wines, you have to conclude that Sicily is about to burst on the world stage with its big bold Nero D’avola based wines.

Every Mediterranean power since civilization began has had control of Sicily and it has only been recently that Italy made it part of their government. Sicilian people are hardy, independent and with a strong sense of place in all that they do, including winemaking. And that’s what makes Sicilian wines so special. Italy is first in the world in wine production and Sicily is its most productive region. The holy trinity of wine, bread and olive oil is enriched in Sicily.

Out of this legacy, the Maggiore family set its course in America with fine Italian restaurants, the best ingredients possible, and now, a family of fine wines from Sicily. Tomaso Maggiore, after establishing successful Italian food and wine experience locations in the Phoenix area, opened Tuscany in Carlsbad some 15 years ago and never looked back in developing quality, reasonably priced restaurants for he and his family. Yet he yearned for his own wine.

On one of his many trips to Sicily, he met by chance Giovanni Maggio, who shared the same dream. In 1994 in Agrigento Sicily, a vineyard of 150 acres was born featuring wines with the bold, natural flavors of the land, and a complexity that ensured its success. Maggiore’s Luxus 5 Meritage is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Nero D’avola, 13% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 7% Syrah.

The Maggiore family includes: Cristina, Joey, Melissa and Tomaso, shown celebrating Melissa’s new venture: MZ Wines

It was my favorite at a recent Tuscany wine tasting. The Maggiores are particularly excited about their wines since daughter Melissa Maggiore has launched MZ Wines, a distributor of fine Italian wines, with Luxus 5 Meritage as the showcase. It’s priced at an attractive suggested retail of $50. for the 2002 vintage. “My wines are world class,” Melissa declared. “The warm, dry southern coast of Agrigento Sicily produces intense, lovely expression of the vineyards’ grapes. We have a high end Chardonnay, Luxus One, that is gorgeous. Also our big bold reds are perfectly balanced: the Lusso Rosso with 70% Nero d’avola and 30% Syrah; and what we like to call the Super Sicilian, the Luxus 5 Meritage with classic Bordeaux age-abilty.” For information on these and other wines in her portfolio, call Melissa at 760-473-2862 or check out her web site at www.MZWines.com. Tuscany restaurant’s phone number is 760-929-8111.

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Nero d’Avola From Sicily- the Newest Great Red

by Frnk Mangio

A year and a half ago, when I first wrote about my ancestral homeland’s native grape, the reaction was a shrug and a nod. I had been served a Chiaramonte
Nero d’Avola at a posh steak restaurant at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and to my surprise it was an amazingly lovely red wine. I have been a fan ever since. Now, a new generation of committed winemakers in Sicily have come up with a wide variety of this increasingly popular black beauty. Sicily is usually spared the wide eccentricities of Italian weather patterns. Each harvest is similar in quality. Now, you will find many of the 2005 releases, reasonably priced in the 9 to 2o dollar level. I find them deep, dark, mysterious and with a strong blackberry taste; very Syrah-like in texture.

The brand to look for is Planeta, with the ’04 winning the “best of tasting at a recent comparison tasting at the Wall Street Journal’s wine column. They called it “elegant, with chocolate, blackberry and earth…lingering balance…a real sense of place.” Planeta costs a little bit more than the rest but it’s aged in French Oak for 12 months after harvest. You can lay it down for about 7 years and the taste will shine even more. The vineyard is around Noto, which is like Montalcino is to Tuscany. If you're visiting, Noto is along the southeast coast, below Syracusa.