Pignatello & Catarratto, Pantelleria, Sicily, Italy

A pristine, botanical and salty zero-zero wonder in Ontrio for the very first time. Previously working in haute couture and as a well known architect in Milan, winemaker Gabrio Bini and his accomplished art director wife Geneviève are based on the island of Pantelleria, just off the coast of Sicily. The island is known as the Black Pearl of the Mediterranean due to its volcanic soils, and their terraced vineyards that sprout from them are home to caper bushes, citrus groves and gnarly old bush vines. A near equal blend of 40-year-old, richly aromatic and mineral catarratto, and spiced, darkly fruited pignatello (aka perricone), which spend seven months on skins in terracotta amphorae that Gabrio buried in the vineyard. Blood orange VA (volatile acidity), cherry pop viscosity, an abandoned shack wrapped in wild herbs, rough n’ choppy minerals, pure salinity like drinking only the liquid surrounding an oyster, resinous texture & carrot cake spices. Enjoy while rehashing a relationship’s worth of inside jokes, warmed by your collective devotion to obscurity, foolishness & connection.