Sicily is a really cool place to make wine. For one, it’s an island crowned by an active volcano, so a good percentage of the wines made on the island have this power and grit from the volcanic soil. Secondly, while much of Europe’s grape vines fell to phylloxera in the last century, Sicily remained largely unscathed by the plague. So much of the island’s vines are old, and are capable of producing wildly complex wines.
Azienda Agricola COS is one of the benchmark producers. The project was founded by three friends — Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti and Cirino Strano — who practice largely natural farming practices in the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG.
I guess you would be right to call this an orange wine — the color is deep and amber — but to me, it’s more of a richly textured white. The grapes (insolia and grecanico) spend seven to ten days macerating on the skin, giving the wine a tannic, tangy texture to it.
Think savory notes of dried apricot and sage, with a bright, refreshing minerality. It’s the perfect wine to drink as the leaves start to turn orange. (And, this wine would be amazing with a Thanksgiving turkey, so keep that in your back pocket.) $43
Kate Dingwall is a WSET-trained sommelier and seasoned spirits writer. Her work has appeared in Wine Enthusiast, Eater, Forbes.com, and Food & Wine, and she pours wine at one of Canada’s top restaurants.