There are no words.....

   Today we made the one hour drive to Calabretta Vini in Randazzo for a wine tasting.  We enjoyed a bottle of their 2004 Etna Rosso at Ristorante Lombardo in Buffalo before we left on this trip, and knowing the winery wasn't far from where we would be staying, we decided to give it a try.  The winery is not open to the public, so we called the owner to see if a visit would be possible, and he said yes.  Salvatore, the genial cellar man, cheerfully greeted us, and led us through a tasting of six wines, all in Italian.

   Calabretta is a commercial only operation, there is no tasting room, just a wine making facility and aging cellar.  So the tastings are done from the barrel.  We tasted one white, one rosato, and four reds.  Three of the reds were Nerello Mascalese, either 100% or with a bit of Nerello Cappuccio.  These two grape varieties are grown only on the slopes of Mt. Etna and nowhere else in the world.  The fourth red was a Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir).  All of the wines were excellent, a couple of them were outstanding.  When we said to Salvatore that we had no words in Italian to describe the wines, he suggested, in Italian, that we say the words in English.  Interesting...

   Their aging cellar is the perfect temperature and humidity all year, so no artificial conditioning is needed.  Their Etna Rosso and Nerello Mascalese wines are generally held for ten years before release.  Many of their wines are a very low production, under 1,000 bottles per year.  They do ship a limited quantity to the US, here is a pallet ready to go....

   We purchased four bottles, two different kinds, and will save them for a special occasion, which, who knows, things change quickly here in Sicily, that special occasion may be tonight!

   The drive over to Randazzo and back was so incredible.  The roads twist and turn through ancient villages built with lava rock, through orange and lemon groves, past crumbling villas and castles, and always with views of Mt. Etna and the sea.

   No, there are no words...

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