Arianna Occhipinti il Frappato 2024 1.5L
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The Land
Frappato has been documented in Vittoria since at least 1812, and for most of that time it was treated as a blending grape or a thin local red not worth exporting. The ground it grows on is the reason to reconsider. Vittoria sits in Sicily's southeastern corner between the Iblei Mountains and the Mediterranean, and its soils are deep red sand over sub-Apennine calcareous limestone, at around 250 to 280 meters. Sand produces pale color, fine tannin, and lift; the limestone underneath supplies acidity and holds moisture through a punishing summer. The sea keeps nights cool. Occhipinti farms roughly 25 certified organic hectares across nine contrade here, biodynamically since 2009, with the oldest Frappato trained in traditional alberello bush vines.
The Wine
100% Frappato from vines of roughly forty to forty-five years, hand-harvested, fermented spontaneously in concrete with no temperature control and about thirty days on the skins, then aged fourteen months in 25-hectoliter Slavonian oak botti and bottled unfiltered with minimal sulfur. A month of maceration on a pale-skinned grape sounds excessive and is not: on sand, Frappato gives up structure slowly and never gives up much color. 2024 was a drought year across Sicily, hot and dry with sharply reduced yields, which concentrated what came in. The wine is rose petal, morello cherry, blood orange, white pepper, and dried hay, light to medium in body with silky tannin, bright acidity, and a long saline finish. In magnum it evolves more slowly, which suits a wine this delicate.
The People
Arianna Occhipinti was sixteen when her uncle Giusto, a founder of COS, brought her along to Vinitaly for four days. She went to study viticulture, found the coursework interventionist, and came home. In 2004, at twenty-two, she took over one hectare of abandoned vines in Contrada Fossa di Lupo and released her first commercial vintage in 2006. Everything since has followed the same rules: hand harvest, native yeast, no temperature control, no fining, no filtration, sulfur only at bottling, and concrete rather than steel since the gravity-fed cellar was completed in 2014. She is the reason the outside world takes Frappato seriously.
Food Pairing
A red that behaves like a white at the table and should be served cool. Grilled swordfish with capers and lemon, pasta alla Norma, roast chicken with olives and herbs, or a plate of tuna crudo. The pale tannin and high acidity mean it can go with fish without either side losing, and the floral aromatics work with tomato and basil rather than fighting them. Put it in the fridge for twenty minutes before you open it.
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Sicily, Italy’s largest island, blends ancient wine traditions with a fresh wave of modern creativity. Its star red grape, Nero d’Avola, thrives in the island’s warm, sun-soaked climate, producing intensely flavored wines with dark fruit and a hint of savory spice. Along the western coast lies the historic heartland of Marsala, a fortified wine prized for both sweet and dry styles. Rising above the island’s varied landscapes is Mount Etna, an active volcano whose mineral-rich soils and cooler elevations result in elegantly structured reds and nuanced whites. From coast to crater, Sicily’s wine culture is as diverse and vibrant as the region itself.
Italy - Sicily
Frappato is a light-bodied, aromatic red grape variety native to Sicily, known for producing wines with vibrant red fruit flavors, particularly cherry and strawberry, often accompanied by floral notes. It thrives in the warm Mediterranean climate and sandy soils of the region, creating fresh, lively wines with soft tannins and a hint of spice. Frappato is often blended with Nero d'Avola to create the famous Cerasuolo di Vittoria, but it also shines as a standalone varietal wine, offering a unique expression of Sicilian terroir.
