Nicolò Grippaldi Le Domeniche di Teo 2020

The Land

Most people think of Sicily in terms of Etna, the coastline, or the bulk wine production that dominated the island's export market for decades. The province of Enna, in the mountainous interior, is different in nearly every respect. At 651 meters above sea level in the small village of Gagliano Castelferrato, the terrain is cooler, the seasons more pronounced, and the soils (blue clays, chalk laden with fossils, sandy patches, fragments of quartz) have no relationship to the volcanic south or the coastal plains. Nicolò Grippaldi is the only wine producer in the entire province. He farms 3.33 hectares biodynamically, on land that belonged to his great-grandfather and sat abandoned for decades before he returned to revive it.

The Wine

76% Nerello Mascalese and 24% Nero d'Avola, sourced entirely from ancient vine clones, some approaching 200 years old. Fermented spontaneously in concrete tanks, no added yeast, no wood contact, no filtration. The wines are clarified only by natural cold settling and racked according to the lunar calendar, then aged four to five years in bottle before release. The 2020 vintage in Sicily was widely praised for freshness and structure: a mild growing season without the heat spikes of neighboring years produced wines with genuine acidity and phenolic balance. The result here is dried cherry, thyme, rosemary, and rose petal aromas, with a taut, savory finish that reflects the high elevation far more than any warm-climate stereotype.

The People

Nicolò Grippaldi was studying literature and philosophy in Florence when he first encountered biodynamic farming. It changed his trajectory completely. He returned to Sicily, found the abandoned land his great-grandfather had once farmed, and discovered the last surviving vines: ancient clones of Nero d'Avola and Nerello Mascalese with root systems approaching two centuries old. From those surviving plants, he grafted and replanted roughly 13,000 vines to bring the site back to life. He has farmed biodynamically from day one, and every step of the process, from pruning through harvest and racking, is done entirely by hand. The wine is named Le Domeniche di Teo, "Sundays with Teo," for his vineyard dog, whose presence in the vineyard is, by all accounts, constant and essential.

Food Pairing

The wine's high-elevation freshness and savory, herb-threaded character make it seriously food-oriented. Slow-braised lamb shoulder with rosemary and garlic, eggplant caponata over pasta, a spiced lamb flatbread with yogurt and fresh herbs, or wild boar ragu on handmade pappardelle all work. The tannins are real but fine; the acidity drives the wine forward. This is food wine in the fullest sense of the phrase.