New from Fabio Ferracane
Fabio Ferracane's Guanciabianca and Guancianera 2024 are both here in time for festive tables - a dose of Sicilian sunshine in this most wintery of months.
From Marsala, on the west coast of the island, Guanciabianca is 100% Catarratto, fermented briefly on the skins leaving the wine a sandy gold in the glass. Herbal and resinous, think apricot, citrus peels, almond and salt.
Guancianera is 100% Nero d’Avola from a tiny vineyard close to the sea, yielding only 1000 or so bottles each vintage. There’s a lovely balance of typically Mediterranean rusticity and juicy crunch.
These new vintages join the other wines we list from Fabio and his many ways with Catarratto - from hazy col fondo bubbles to long skin maceration in amphora, oxidative wine under flor for 5 years and transportive vermouth. A glass of his saline rosato puts a spring in one’s step any time of year - sometimes a wine from a warm place in the darker months is just what is needed.