Premi

Pantelleria, an island off the coast of Sicily that is closer to Africa than Rome, has the potential to produce wonderfully sweet wines.  Donnafugata, one of Sicily’s top producers, consistently fulfills that potential with their Ben Rye, a wine made from the Muscat of Alessandria grape.   It delivers an intriguing combination of honey-like sweetness, without being cloying, balanced by a hint of apricot skin-like bitterness.   Serve it with cheese, especially pungent ones, fresh fruit or as dessert. I advise against serving it with sweet desserts because the two will fight.  Sold in a 375-ml (half-bottle), this serves six easily.

Medaglia d’Oro

Donnafugata has long been one the greatest examples of the wine renaissance that transformed Sicilian wine more than two decades ago. Its flagship wine is Mille e una Notte, an eclectic blend that marries Sicily’s most celebrated red grape, Nero d’Avola with several international grape varieties, notably Petit Verdot and Syrah. The 2011 is a stunning wine, massively structured and showing nuances of red and black fruits with an overlay of wood spice. Serve it now or cellar over the next 10 to 15 years.

Light, spicy Nero d’Avola blend with notes of cranberry, blackberry, sundried tomato, fennel seed and white mushroom.

This Mediterranean Muscat is lightly sweet and zesty with notes of lemon crème, kumquat, papaya, yellow rose and vanilla frosting.

Light, crisp and dry with notes of citrus rind, quinine, chamomile and honey.

This white gold colored Grillo is an impressive Summer wine. It opens with a very fragrant. Honeydew melon and lemon bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acid and juicy. The flavor profile is a very tasty mineral infused tangerine and pineapple blend with notes Anjou pear and lime. The finish is dry and very refreshing. This wine would be perfect with grilled swordfish steak with a lemon butter drizzle. Enoy (Ken).

Best Sweet Southern Italy

Smooth and juicy with depth and elegant flavors of plum, spice and blackberry; silky texture and generous style; long and fresh. Nero d’Avola, Petit Verdot, Syrah (Anthony Dias Blue)

I am smitten by the 2010 Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé and I look forward to tasting the wine again as it continues its evolution. This vintage presents a very graceful and feminine side to Ben Ryé with dried rose and almond blossom. As those perfumes lift, the wine reveals lasting tones of candied fruit, honey and brown sugar. There’s a noticeable contribution in the form of baking spice, cinnamon and nutmeg. This vintage produced lower yields than average, but the wine boasts a tonic and sharp sense of acidity as a result.