2019 Firri Firri

In the middle of the Mediterranean, about halfway between Sicily and Tunisia, you will find the small island of Pantelleria, where Francesco Ferreri and his wife Nicoletta inhabit the small vineyard called Tanca Nica. In the local dialect, Tanca means a small hilly area where crops are grown on terraces shaped out of the landscape. Nica is the name of the phenomenon where warm ocean currents rise from the ocean floor and mix with the cobalt blue water that surrounds the island.

Franceso studied wine at Conegliano in Veneto in northern Italy, before traveling the world to challenge himself with different working methods. Eventually, he returned to Pantelleria, where he began cultivating a small two-acre vineyard using the traditional techniques his grandfather taught him. The grapes come from three single vineyards, where you will find Zibibbo, also known as Moscato d’Alessandria, as well as Pignatello, which is called Nivuro Nostrale on Pantelleria, and finally Catarratto.

To protect against the strong winds in the area, green beans and wheat are planted parallel with the vines, while absolutely no chemical pesticides are used. In the cellar, the grapes are destemmed by hand and pressed with the feet. The fermentation is spontaneous and occurs only with naturally occurring yeast. The wine is not fined or filtered and no sulphur or other additives are used.

The wines have great aromatic complexity while being cool, pure and precise. The comparison with Gabrio Bini is inevitable, but the wine has its very own identity.