A nose with notes of raspberries and spices. Palate: a wine on a high wire, rich and expressive, between fluidity and power. It’s a lovely stroll through the vineyard, this Frappato.
Arianna Occhipinti
Arianna Occhipinti organically cultivates 10 ha of vines and 15 ha of olive trees in the south of Sicily, near Vittoria. A dynamic young woman, cheerful and passionate, she’s a pure child of Sicily. Her organic vineyard is planted with Albanello and Zibibbo for the whites, Nero d’Avola and Frappato for the reds. These local grape varieties are planted on parcels oriented to the north and at an altitude of nearly 300 meters, which gives her wines a freshness and smoothness that Arianna only accentuates through her respectful vinifications. Her wines are never overly demonstrative, everything is hinted, all subtlety and reserve, much like the taciturn characters of this island's inhabitants. The estate produces low yields, and wines of purity and length, worlds away from the mass-produced, high-alcohol plonk sometimes associated with Sicily. Arianna, like her uncle Giusto Occhipinti of Azienda COS, one of the island’s most respected vignerons, reminds us what a superb playground for talented winemakers Sicily is.