Wine and literature: the history of the name Tancredi It's a name full of character, belonging to the knights of the Norman period and in particular to the valorous Sicilian king Tancredi d'Altavilla.
A name that inspired great authors like Boccaccio, Torquato Tasso and even Voltaire whose "Tancredi" was the source of the homonymous opera by Gioacchino Rossini.

But for Donnafugata, Tancredi is the young prince, hero of the novel "The Leopard" by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.
Refined, intelligent, open-minded. He marries Angelica Sedàra, beautiful, wealthy member of the burgher class. And, intuiting change, he sides with Garibaldi and Italian unity against the Bourbons of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.

Even cinema paid tribute to Tancredi. In Luchino Visconti's famous film version of the novel, Alain Delon was a perfect embodiment of the elegance and "revolutionary" ambition proper to this wine as well.

The underground barrique room, where Tancredi refines;
Donnafugata Vineyard in Mazzaporro area (Photo by A. Pakula)

The character of Tancredi , Sicilian red wine When the first vintage of Tancredi, the 1990, was presented, this blend of Nero d'Avola ed il Cabernet Sauvignon was considered innovative and perhaps a bit daring.
An indigenous-international blend today still demonstrating its personality thanks to a terroir, the Contessa Entellina hills, that permits full expression of the organoleptic potential of its two grape varieties.

The wine's color is deep, and its fragrance complex, as befits a wine refined in barriques for more than 12 months). The "wood" integrates perfectly and the wealth of "fruit" emerges: wild cherry, blueberry and even licorice and cacao, with a note of mint.

This wine's temperament is like Tancredi's in The Leopard: original, potent and elegant.
Its tannins are "gentle", rotund, complex but never invasive.
Its aromatic persistence brings intriguingly harmonious aftertastes. And Tancredi's considerable ageing potential makes it a big red, with surprises in store through time.

First label version;
Author sketch;
The intermediate version, integrated with the monochromatic sketch

The label for Tancredi, a great red wine Later the focus shifted to the Contessa Entellina winery, with a new illustration appearing discreetly on the label (see the 2001 vintage). The label is still classical but the image is blown up, giving birth to a label in pure "Donnafugata" style: free, full of color and personality, artistic.

The original sketch showed a view of the winery standing on a cloud with azure outlines. In the graphic re-working the colors became warmer: leven the cloud is flecked with gold dust. An image citing Sicily and summer.

In The Leopard there is talk of the "Journey to Donnafugata" and sipping a red like Tancredi can become a memorable sensorial "journey" accompanied by "The Leopard" soundtrack composed by Nino Rota or the jazz arrangement Journey to Donnafugata.