Alessandro Viola's family has been in Alcamo for generations, a town that sits pretty between Trapani and Palermo, just a few kilometres from the Gulf of Castellammare. The sea breezes roll in, the vines soak it up, and Alessandro, who could have stayed anywhere after studying oenology and working abroad, came right back home.
This is his Blanc de Blancs, and he only makes 3,000 bottles of it each year. It's a very special wine! Made with 100% Catarratto from the calcareous soils of Contrada Fastuchera, about 400 metres up. The vines were planted in 1998, and have been farmed organically for as long as they can remember. The wine was fermented with native yeasts, then bottled for a second fermentation and left to hang out on its lees for about 20 months. This is Pas Dosé, which is a fancy way of saying very, very dry, because they basically did not add any dosage to make it sweet.
It smells like white flowers, ripe pear, apple, and a little brioche from all that time on the lees. The acidity is right on bouncing, it has nice bitter almond, citrus pith, and a salty cracker finish .
The other day I had an albacore tuna crudo at Bar Vendetta. Served over ajoblanco, with little almonds and jalapeño rings on top. Delicious. I had a Verdicchio with it that was phenomenal, but this sparkling? Oh, my. It would have been a divine pairing. So go ahead. Try to make that crudo at home. Or go to Vendetta first, let yourself fall in love with the dish, then try to recreate it at home.
Or drink it with raw oysters, spaghetti alle vongole, fritto misto, or anything that comes from the sea.
