Filari Della Rocca
After the frenetic vibe of Palermo, cruising through the rolling hills and cliffsides of the Sicilian countryside was like a plunge into the Mediterranean on a hot summer day. 10 minutes outside of the city and the calm returns…. well except on the highways where the Sicilian drivers like to use Morse Code with their high beams if you are moving even slightly too slow for their taste.
Heading south on SS624, the entire countryside is a rich green, divided into hundreds of neat square patches of rich brown earth.
After an hour of cruising at 80 MPH, Google tells us it’s time to head into the hills, up SP12.
Filari della Rocca
We pull off the main road, straight ahead up an unnamed dirt and rock country road that we hope will eventually lead us to Filari Della Rocca. No signs, no arrows, nothing that indicates we are even remotely close to our target. We are praying to the google map gods that their red balloon is accurate.
We pull up to an unassuming country house, but it is clear we are in an Azienda Agricola (farm), from the rows of olive orchards and filari di vigneti (rows of vineyards). No sign or clear parking, so we pulled off to the side of the house, behind a couple cars we assume belong to the family here.
As we exit the car, we are immediately greeted by a young Italian man named Ciro - pronounced like chee-row. Cheerful cries of, “Buongiorno, Ciao! Benvuniti! Piachere, mi chiamo Ciro” come in waves of relief indicating we’ve made it to our destination. We shake hands, and I introduce the group in Italian.
“Tu parli inglese, o solo italiano?” I ask Ciro, wondering if I will spend the next 2 hours translating the entire discussion. In the classic Italian way, he says “I speak only a little English,” which turns out to be fluent (he learned watching the Crown on Netflix), before he walks us behind the gate and brick wall that obscured the majority of the home and into their family courtyard.
Ciro’s father Pino, and his mother are waiting for us inside the courtyard of the Benanti family home.
There is a beautiful country table with a white tablecloth, the traditional Sicilian ceramic pinecones and moor heads, fresh flowers, and plenty of beautifully painted terracotta and porcelain pots decorating the space around the fully set table.
Clearly we are in for an experience beyond a simple tasting.
Ciro’s mother explains that the Greeks and Albanians settled in the area, and their languages and religions (especially Greek Orthodox) still exist.
After the introductions and brief history lesson, Ciro chimes in, “Potutto fare un giro negli vigni?” want to go for a walk in the vineyard? to which the only appropriate response is “Si, andiamo tutti!” Let’s go everyone!
Walking amongst the 20+ year old vines and 100+ year old olive trees is the best location to learn about Filari Della Rocca. Ciro’s grandfather purchased the land, and his father and uncle have continued farming it for wine, olives, and honey for over 40 years. The farm is now in its third generation of wine-making for commercial sale, with Ciro’s grandfather starting their focus on producing wines beyond the family.
The winery produces only 40,000 bottles a year or ~3300 cases.
Everything produced is certified biodynamic, and Ciro walks us over to the bee hives in the middle of the property. The bees are happy and thriving - something that can’t happen when you use herbicides or pesticides in your vineyards. They of course sell their delicious honey, but he states the bees are their visual representation and proof of the naturalness of their winemaking practice.
In January, all of the vines have been cut back, but the vegetation between rows is lush. Wild yellow flowers are everywhere. Tall grasses, weeds, and countless native plants are thriving during the months when the vignioli aren’t walking between the vines and tending the grapes. It looks like the land has almost completely retaken the vineyard. In January and February, Sicily reclaims these natural vineyards.
We walk down to the production facility, passing rows of hundred-year-old olive trees. Ciro explains they are expanding the building, and we can see the rebar sticking out of half-finished concrete walls about 12 feet beyond the current structure. You can imagine the future expansion.
When we enter, we immediately see a tasting room with racks of wine, and to our left are the steel tanks used for olive oil production. Both areas could fit 10-15 people, max. We head to the back of the building, where a few small barrels are lined up next to additional stainless steel tanks and pallets of wine.
Ciro points out the “bottling line,“ a small device that can bottle just 4 wines at a time. This is as small batch as it gets. Next to it is the single-bottle corker. One bottle at a time. Labels are done individually by a machine that has to be fed by hand. No automation here besides the pumping hose that goes from the barrels/tanks to the bottling machine.
“When I see pictures of people drinking our wine, I know that I touched every single bottle,” Ciro states with a grin.
We start to walk back up the hill 200 meters from production to the Benanti family house, and as we come into the courtyard, Ciro’s mother starts walking out with ceramic trays of homemade deliciousness.
This isn’t just a wine tasting - it’s an excursion through the bounty of local produce. As we sit at the farm table in the courtyard, Oscar the wine cat lets us know he’s expecting to participate in everything we are eating.
We start with the Rosato (rosé) made from Nero D’avola. The color is rich pink, indicating it will have plenty of flavor and body. Even as the wine approaches your nose, you are hit with fresh strawberries.
The wine is perfectly chilled, and your palette is swept up with the crisp acidity in the best possible way. After walking around for 30 minutes, it immediately quenches your thirst. You just want to drink more. Eyes closed, the entire group including papa Pino, starts to mumble “mmmmms” through the long strawberry finish. The wine is perfect for the sun and would be ideal on a hot day when you need something more interesting and flavorful than the pale pink rosés we find in the US. You can drink this at the beach all day or through the early evening as you transition to apertivo. Given the depth of strawberry flavors, it would be a great alternative to an aperol spritz in the early evening.
Next we are poured the Cattaratto, the Sicilian staple white grape, that has a beautiful straw yellow color with gold reflection. The nose is very floral and smells like wildflowers. Ciro points out that it specifically smells like the Zagara Fiore, or the white flowers that blossom from olive trees. You also get a hint of orange flower and lime, all deliciously crisp and fresh on the nose. Ciro explains that it is grown at 600Ms above sea level, giving it cooler nights and a bit more cooling wind. This develops into the nice acidity that puts it between a very acidic pinot grigio and a sauvignon blanc. It finishes with some nice notes of almond. This is a great wine for folks who claim, “I’m not a white wine drinker.” On a hot summer day, this wine will go down easier than water and convert any nonbeliever.
Next up is the Merlot. We aren’t going to be focusing on Merlot with a posto, but if we were, this would be the one we bring in. Unlike Merlots you have had in the US or Europe, this merlot never sees an oak barrel. Using only steel tanks to ferment and age the wine, gives the flavor a fresh blackberry flavor, unlike any merlot I’ve had in the states.
Finally we come to Nero D’avola (we will be talking more about this grape's importance in the coming weeks). An absolutely beautiful deep ruby color, with nice fresh raspberries, cherry, and a hint of blackberry. This drinks like a full-bodied pinot noir.
Filari Della Rocca wine line up - Rosato, Cataratto, Merlot and Nero D’avola
Throughout this process, mama Benanti is serving us caponata, prosciutto, salsiccia, pecorino con pepperoncini (peppered sheep’s milk cheese), olives, honey, fresh bread, Sicilian pizza pomodoro, and sweet treats - of course all locally sourced near the farm and made by hand. The wines pair perfectly with what we are eating.
We leave Filari with promises to stay in touch and to work on bringing their delightfully drinkable wines to the US.
We hop in the car and head off to meet our next wine maker, Salvatore Tamburello. We tasted his 306 Nero D’Avola wine at Bottega Monteleone, found his winery on google and sent him a WhatsApp message to see if we could come to visit him and his winery.
“Noi ad oggi non abbiamo la nostra contina ma la stiamo costruendo…. se volete possiamo fare un giro in vigna?” We don’t have a winery yet, but want to come walk in the vineyards?…. uhhhh yup! Andiamo tutti!
