Frappato superstar

In the New York Times, on January 31st, they even referred to it as the perfect representation of a world that has radically changed over the last 25 years. "In the 1980s, few people had even heard of the Frappato grape, and most wines from Sicily were regarded as heavy, oxidized or just plain bad. Yet today, it is a fount of thoroughly exciting wines". Clearly, Americans are touched more easily than us and are not afraid to show it, even if a little above the lines. Or, more simply, their “childish” approach allows them to be more genuine, and open-minded. In fact, most of the frappato produced in Sicily, both when alone and when in blend with nero d’avola, in the Cerasuolo di Vittoria docg, is today exported.

The name "frappato" derives from the word rappato, which in the local dialect refers to the grapes on the bunches, which are very close to each other, and to the fact that the vine leaf, when it’s very hot, si arrappa, that is to say its corners curl and fold. In order to illustrate this ancient Sicilian indigenous grape variety we’ve spoken with two women who more than any other producer have believed in this vine, producing it by itself, not in blend, and trying to launch it beyond the most famous and muscular nero d'avola, of which it has always been the right-hand grape variety.

Gaetana Jacono Gola and Arianna Occhipinti have never acted as the leaves of frappato, as their stories demonstrate. Gaetana could have become a chemist but preferred to take over the family winery, which has produced wine for 6 generations. When Arianna was still a teenager, she was converted on the way to Vinitaly upon going there with her uncle, also a famous Sicilian wine producer. These two women have found their treasure in Sicily, among the grapes of this ancient variety with characteristics that are similar to those of the noblest pinot noir and nebbiolo. "In blind tastings - Arianna explains – my frappato is almost always confused with a wine from Piedmont".

It’s thanks to both of them if frappato has began to express its own personality. It did so in Gaetana Jacono Gola and the Ferrè family’s Valle dell'Acate winery, (+39.0932.874166), finding the perfect terroir, made of black soil and white cobblestones. And also in the current 18 hectares of Agricola Occhipinti, +39.339.7383580, where Arianna for years now has treated frappato as a child, not constraining it but leading it to show its talents, through long macerations and the drastic reduction of yields per hectare.

When tasting the Valle dell'Acate and Occhipinti frappato you discover the soul of this grape variety. In the first wine, produced in contrada Bidini in Acate, substance emerges in the form of raspberries, strawberries and blackberries which charm the nose, and of a pronounced acidity that leaves the palate fresh and clean. In the second, from grapes harvested in contrada Fossa di lupo in Vittoria, we can notice the ideal tension that is revealed in more spicy and complex notes, unfolded in a liquorish finish. While leaving to American wine lovers the pleasure of pairing it with their barbeque meat and Thanksgiving turkey, we’re not afraid to put it on a table where red tuna is served, or sushi or delicate meat such as hare or quail.