Passicato
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2026
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Slow-cooked beef stew, roasted lamb chops, aged pecorino cheese
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the sun-drenched hills of Sicily, Cantine Nicosia's 'Passicato' is a testament to the ancient Mediterranean art of appassimento—the partial drying of grapes to concentrate their sugars, acids, and complex aromas. This rich red blend marries the native champion Nero d'Avola with Syrah, utilizing grapes that are left to overripen on the vine or carefully dried post-harvest. This technique, historically used in Sicily for sweet passito wines, is masterfully adapted here to create a dry, full-bodied red of remarkable depth. The volcanic and clay-rich soils of the region impart a subtle mineral backbone that balances the wine's natural opulence, resulting in a velvety texture filled with notes of dark stewed fruits, sweet spices, and cocoa.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1898 by Francesco Nicosia on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna, Cantine Nicosia has evolved across five generations into an ambassador of Sicilian viticulture. Today steered by Carmelo Nicosia alongside his sons Francesco and Graziano, the estate combines modern winemaking precision with deep regional tradition under the guidance of head enologist Maria Carella. Vineyards span key microclimates across the island, notably the terraced volcanic sands and decomposed lava fields of Monte Gorna near Trecastagni at roughly 700 meters elevation, as well as limestone-rich calcareous soils in Vittoria. Working through certified organic farming and vegan-certified protocols, Nicosia focuses heavily on indigenous Sicilian varieties. Their benchmark white expressions—spanning Generazione Mille898 mono-varietals like Grillo, Insolia, and Catarratto, through to volcanic Etna Bianco and aromatic Balanubi bottlings—are distinguished by mineral tension, saline clarity, and authentic varietal character.
🍇 Grapes
Nero d'Avola, Syrah
🍷 ABV
13.5-1%