Gulfi

Since 1996, after taking over his family’s vineyards to fulfill his father’s dream of making great wine, Vito Catania has produced some of Sicily’s most sought-after wines from 70 hectares of grapes, located in the commune of Chiaramonte Gulfi in the province of Ragusa, about 500 meters above sea level. His passion for wine led him to collaborate with Salvo Foti (undoubtedly Sicily’s top winemaker), to pull up his father’s pergola-trained vines and to make some of the finest wines coming from the area of the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG.

Vines were replanted using the traditional alberello, a head-trained bush that forces the plant to produce lesser quantity, yet higher-quality grapes. Here one finds the true home of the grape Nero d'Avola (“Calavirisi” in the local dialect), and also Frappato, as well as local varieties of white grapes: Albanello, Carricante, and Moscatello. The wines are all produced from organically cultivated, dry-farmed, hand-picked vines and in fact are certified organic. Each vineyard parcel is vinified separately.

The winery is celebrated by the Gambero Rosso as a frequent Tre Bicchieri winner. While the basic wines, both white and red, are elegant, well-made, and pleasing, it is the four Crus of alberello-trained Nero d'Avola from different plots near Noto in the Syracuse province that have bedazzled critics and wine lovers.

Gulfi's quartet of celebrated vineyards are in the hamlet of Pachino, one of hottest areas on the island. Located twelve miles south of the Baroque town of Noto on the extreme southeastern point of Sicily, Pachino dips below North Africa and lies farther south than Tunisia. Days are roasting hot, nights are cool and windy, and the area boasts the lowest rainfall on the island - this is where Nero d'Avola thrives and is the variety's classic growing area, having originated around the environs of the nearby town of Avola.