Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG “Floramundi” 2021 – Donnafugata

The grapes to produce the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG “Floramundi” Donnafugata, were fermented in stainless-steel tanks with maceration on the skins lasting about 10 days at a temperature of 25°- 28°C. After malolactic fermentation, ageing took place in stainless-steel tanks for eight months and then the wine was aged in bottle for at least seven months.

The fruit for this wine come from vineyards in Acate, in the region of Vittoria, south east of Sicily.The vineyards are located on slopes at 120-150 meters above sea level. The soils here are sandy with a substratum of calcareous tuff and clay with a pH of 7.7, and limestone present at 21%. Vines are trained with vertical shoot positioning with spurred cordon pruning. The planting density is 4,000-4,500 plants per hectare with yields of 70-80 quintals per hectare.

The Rallo family is the Donnafugata Estate owners and has made wine in Marsala since 1851. Their ancient cellars tunnel are situated beneath the city. They were one of the first families to begin making high quality table wine when sales of traditional Marsala started to decline, launching the Donnafugata label in 1983 and championing the potential of the region’s native varieties. Today, Donnafugata has four estates in Sicily: a modern winery and 283 hectares at Contessa Entellina in the hills east of Marsala; 36 hectares in Vittoria to the south eastern point of the island; 68 hectares on the island of Pantelleria; and 18 hectares on the slopes of Etna. Donnafugata means ‘fleeing woman’ and is a reference to Queen Maria Carolina, who escaped the court of Naples in the early 19th century with her husband, Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, when Napoleon’s troops arrived. The couple took refuge in Sicily at the Santa Margherita Belice palace, also the favourite residence of celebrated writer Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and depicted on the ‘Mille e una Notte’ label.