The final day of the 19th tour of Tim’s 2024 season took us to Noto, to the south of Siracusa. Noto is a tiny DOC region, mainly growing Moscato and Nero d’Avola. It is famed for its sunshine, though proximity to the sea provides cooling influences.
Our first visit was to the Marabino estate, where Ana was our host. She explained that while altitude was low, the vineyard was in sight of two seas: the Med and the Adriatic, and that the three winds that blow across Italy, the Scirocco, Mistral and Tramontane provide further cooling.
The estate is organic, and run on biodynamic principles, with the phases of the moon guiding vineyard and winery operations.
In the vineyard Ana talked about how vines are interplanted with fruit and olive trees to encourage beneficial insects, and how beans and local wheat varieties are planted and ploughed in to improve soil fertility.
The estate is very much focussed on terroir, and is proud of its four very distinct soil types: from left to right in the picture:
Terra Nivra – a dark alluvial soil with high calcereous content
Terra a Critá – fine textured clay.
Terra Palomina – shallow layer of calcereous and clay soils
Terra Ianca – calcareous white limestone.
In the courtyard Ana showed us the demijohns of Moscato wine made from passito ie dried grapes, that is left outside for 12 months, during which time it evolves a dark colour and undergoes an oxidative evolution.
A quick trip through the winery allowed us to see the many barrels made from different wood that the Moscato spends time in before going into the demi johns (they run a kind of perpetual reserve, so new wine tops up the barrels each year).
The wine will be bottled as Soleggiato, which we were about to taste.
We enjoyed a comprehensive tasting of Marabino wines, commencing with ther very fresh rosato, then their Muscatedda moscato, honey coloured from its 15 days of skin conact, their Rosso Di Contrada blend from 4 plots of young vines, grown on the key soil types, a comparisson of two old vintages of Nero D’Avola from single vineyards, and finally the Soleggiato, which like all the wines was remarkably fresh, with very reasonable alcohol (12.5%) and a really interesting twist on what one expects from a Moscato!
We had a lovely lunch at Marabino’s restaurant, which had an awfully tempting pool, but we needed to move on to enjoy our final visit of the day.
At Cantina Marilina we met Marlina, whose father had made wine for the likes of Planeta and when he decided to make wine for himself he selected Noto as the place to make great Nero d’Avola, though he planted other varieties too.
The estate is also organic, 80% of its vines are indigenous, including Grecanico, an indigenous white grape. International varieties like Merlot and Viognier are also planted.
We enjoyed a fascinating tasting of their wines, starting with a Moscato sparkling wine made by the ancestral method (also called pet nat), where the final stages of fermentation take place in the sealed bottle. A comparison of their basic Grecanico from the latest vintage with the riserva from 2018 showed what wonderful potential this variety (which is a relative of Garganega, the main variety of Soave) has to age.
Finally their Rosso di Federica Nero D’Avola 2015 which has spent 5 years in barrique was similar to the powerful wines we had tasted in Vittoria, though so elegant, fresh and complex – definitely worth laying down.
We were fascinated by the bottles, which are hand filled, and finished with wax and string – a job for Marilina and Federica’s mum!
Marilina took us quickly through the winery, showing us the huge concrete tanks in which the wine is kept cool while it is fermenting and spending time on lees, before entering the french barriques or tonneaux.
Then we were back on the coach and reurning to Siracusa.
The final moments of our tour took place in the Perle d’Ortigia, a restaurant in the heart of the Ortigia island in Siracusa. We enjoyed a Grillo/Viognier blend and a Nero d’Avola (what else?) with our prawns, aubergine bake, tuna and a very nice whipped ricotta with chocolate.
Nice words were said about our visits, the new friendships that had been made, and old ones rekindled. We agreed it is people (the ones on tour and the ones we meet) who are the key element of these tours. We’ve tasted wonderful wines, seen all sorts of interesting things in vineyards and wineries but most of all we’ve enjoyed some great company.
And so it ended! But most definitely in the morning as we board the coach to Catania airport, it will be au revoir not goodbye. Or maby Ciao! Here’s to 2025!
