Page 136 - GV2020 Portfolio Master

Paternoster BASILICATA
Volcanic wines are currently a This region, at the heel of the boot, is the most mountainous region of southern Italy, defined by
hot topic among wine critics and the volcano Mount Vulture. Nearly half the of the region is made up of the foothills and
enthusiasts worldwide, and
Paternoster is very much of the mountain peaks of the Southern Apennines. It only has small coast lines on the Ionian and
moment: it is a volcanic wine in Tyrrhenian Seas, thus is mainly a land-locked region. While there are some plantings of varietals
the literal sense of the term and from neighboring regions, such as Falanghina, Malvasia, Moscato, Fiano, etc., the region is
stands on an extinct volcano. defined by its success with Aglianico. Its only DOCG, Aglianico del Vulture Superiore, named
Along with neighboring Taurasi
in Campania, the area around after the Mount Vulture, has shown great promise. Aglianico, originally brought to the area from
Mount Vulture is considered one Greece in the 6th or 7th century, found an ideal habitat in the volcanic soils of the area. While
of the top areas for the production winemaking standards and quality can vary wildly, leading producers, Paternoster and D’Angelo.
of the Aglianico grape – earning
it its reputation as the “Barolo of
the South” by many leading wine
writers. Paternoster vintus.com
Don Anselmo, the winery’s Paternoster Falanghina Vulcanico 2018 $191.90
founder, learned the art of 90 JS
winemaking from his father and
started the winery in 1925, Paternoster Aglianico del Vulture Synthesi 2016 $191.90 90 VN
producing the very first bottles of
Aglianico del Vulture. Paternoster Aglianico del Vulture Don Anselmi 2015 $311.90 95 WA, 94 W&S

SICILY
Sicily is as fascinating to students of the modern wine world as it is to those of ancient civilizations. This large island,
not far from the African coast, regularly produces as much wine as Australia, Chile and Bulgaria put together – and is
dramatically upgrading the quality of its better wines. Like Puglia, it was a key supplier to northern blenders and, less
usefully, a key contributor to the European wine lake, but is today undergoing the most exciting revival as a fine wine
producer. Surprisingly, it grows far more white grapes than red, the local Catarratto being so widely planted that it has
been second only to Sangiovese in Italy's league table of grape varieties.
For years the island's most famous wine was Marsala, made in Sicily's wild west, but there are more signs of dynamic
indigenous winemaking here than in any of the southern mainland regions. The island's chief viticultural research station
just outside Palermo is hard at work harnessing the potential of local varieties such as the white Inzolia and red Nero
d'Avola and Nerello Mascalese. There has also been considerable progress with cooler and more sophisticated
fermentations and, inevitably, the use of small oak barrels.

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