During summer and spring, we carry out most of the visits to the wineries with a view to producing the new edition of Slow Wine Guide. Besides returning to the cellars already presented in the past editions, we visit new realities and search for hidden treasures throughout Italy.
In this journey, we spot so many exciting wineries. Unfortunately, a great many cannot be included in the guide, either due to lack of space or to the necessity of further observation before making substitutions.
Too often these are wineries deserve to be worthy of attention and they most likely will impress you. That’s why we decided to report one of them each week within this column.
MERIDIO – Slow Wine Scouting
Contrada Cirito, 1
97012 Chiaramonte Gulfi (RG) Sicily – Italy
+39 339-4873123
2.5 ac – 10.000 bt
PEOPLE
This small winery arose from the dream and passion of two geologists, Gaetano Luca and Gianni Salafia. Their idea was to make wine for real as true winemakers. Later, Maurizio Pagano and the oenologist Angelo Di Grazia, also joined them in this adventure, as they all shared the same passion for wine, as well as the Meridio’s values and philosophy: a combination of tradition with a sustainable approach.
VINEYARDS
This south-facing vineyard is found in Chiaramonte Gulfi and has a varied soil and subsoil consisting of marls, sands, and limestone dominant clays. Located in a latitude among the lowest in Sicily in an area with a strong wine tradition. The vineyard is cultivated with the traditional goblet system underpinned by a cane which is attached by a string of grass called “liama”. Moreover, all vineyard work from winter pruning to the harvest is performed manually, only natural fertilizer is used, and the wines are vinified with indigenous yeasts.
WINES
The wines are made only with native grapes, such as Nero d’Avola, Frappato, and Alicante, the latter although of Spanish origin has been present in Sicily for centuries. The Liama 2016 is an intense and fragrant red wine made of an inimitable blend of these three grapes, it is refined only in steel and have fresh aromas of pomegranate with hints of minerals, in the mouth, the juiciness is accompanied by pleasant strong acidity. The Arundo 2014 is made purely with Alicante, bouquet includes ripe red fruits and spices in the background. It combines an aromatic complexity, a persistence in taste and a unique elegance.
Liama:
