Sicily is an emerging wine region of Italy.

Given that Piedmont, Veneto and Tuscany already have a strong international reputation, and that high quality wines are produced in what could be called, from a geographical point of view, their “extensions” (Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige and Umbria), Sicily is gaining increasing reputation among international wine lovers, not only for the quality of the wines it is producing but also for their uniqueness.

Frappato is one of the rare, local vine varieties that made on this hot Mediterranean island a rising star in the wine firmament.

What is Frappato? Is it a variety or a wine?

Frappato is a red variety, which is responsible for some of Sicily’s most delicious unknown wines. Grown in the province of Ragusa, especially in the countryside around Vittoria and around Syracuse, in southern Sicily. It seems to perform best when grown on red sandy-calcareous soils such as those of
 the Vittoria area; one grand cru area for Frappato is between Pedalino and Acate; another is Bastonaca.

From the genetic point of view, it is believed to have a parent-offspring relationship between Frappato and Sangiovese, and that Frappato is a sibling of the Gaglioppo variety of Calabria.

What is Frappato used for?

Frappato is famous for being one of the two varieties - the other being Nero d’Avola - that can be used to produce Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the only DOCG wine in Sicily.

Not many people know that Frappato is also used to produce a single variety wine that bears the same name and that is surprisingly enjoyable, thanks to its quite light body, pretty unusual for a wine made at certain latitudes, and its pleasant flavors of soft, ripe red fruits. Its delicately tannic personality means you can also lightly chill it.

Best Frappatos are counter balanced by a good level of acidity, which makes them pretty fresh and drinkable, especially when paired with Sicilian savory cheeses and complex fish preparations.

What does the name Frappato mean?

As we are accustomed to see when it’s about Italian wines and vine varieties, their names speak, and their meanings address distinctive peculiarities they have.

Frappato” allegedly comes from the word “frappa” (whose etymology should be probably sought in ancient French frape), that means “frill”, “ruffle”, “ruffling edge of a dress”, and is referred to the shape of its grapes, which are pretty sparse and decisively winged.

 

Quality wines to Try:

Paolo Cali

Valle dell’Acate

COS

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What does eating slow means

Slow Food is nowadays a global movement that aims to make people appreciate and choose “true food” from local producers.

It was born in Italy - and more precisely in the blessed region called Piedmont, where they grow Nebbiolo grapes that eventually become Barolo and Barabresco bottles, and where they seek after precious white truffles of Alba -  in the middle of the Eighties, that is when all over the world the fast-food trend was booming.

Its name, indeed, is SlowFood in Italian language, too, as the association wants to stand in opposition to fast-foods’ culinary and the gastronomical globalization they require, as well as the related consumption of low-quality food made with low-quality, cheap ingredients, the abandon of local culinary traditions and products, and the growing unsustainable food provision.

What does wine have to do with the Slow food movement?

In the last 30 years or so, the movement grew and went beyond Italy’s boundaries and the area of mere food, so that, nowadays, it operates in more than 100 countries, including USA, and focuses on wine, too, promoting cultivation and consumption of autochthonous and/or locally grown grape varieties.

Slowine is the name of a magazine published by Slow Foods that talks about local, forgotten excellent products and tells the stories of proud and strong winemakers that everyday chose to chase a quality and fair production.

Recently, some small Italian winemakers, representing the Slow Food wine making philosophy, made a tour in United States, to bring people’s awareness on “clean” wine making and small producers.

Slow Wine 2016 world tour

It’s the fifth time this annual tour takes place.

Between the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, some selected winemakers from Italy and the editorial board of the magazine went through San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin and New York (it was actually a kind of World Tour that brought them in Asia and northern Europe, too).

To get into SlowFood wine guide, a winery can’t only produce wines that are good at taste, they must be good in a wider sense. To say it in Slow Food’s words, they must be good, clean and fair. This means that winemakers that step into the guide work their vineyards respecting soil and environment, use traditional techniques (something that, for the sake of truth, is pretty common among quality Italian winemakers, regardless their general care for environment), and that defend the biodiversity of grape varieties.

Indeed, almost all the listed producers are certified organic and biodynamic, and those who are not still show great responsibility towards environment and final customer, as Slow Food certifies by visiting winemakers at their cellars (not tasting wines from bottles they receive for tasting panels, like many tasters do when reviewing wines for other guides).

The only tour stop open to consumers was the one that took place in New York on February the 3rd, while the three former ones were reserved to journalists and wine traders.

Some argued that not allowing simple wine lovers to wine tasting is a strange way to promote the consumption of a particular kind of wine among people, and that talking about the importance of getting slow, local and environmental-friendly while touring the world with about 50 winemakers from another continent is pretty weird, too.

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