Sicily Valle dell'Acate

Situated in the gloriously orange-tree bestrewn Acate valley, inland and north west of Ragusa, Valle dell' Acate boasts a magnificent, perfectly preserved 19th century gravity driven, stone-lagared winery. Happily for today's drinkers, it's only a museum now, but it does show how wine was made 150 years ago and how far winemakers have travelled since. We chose Valle dell' Acate both for its bright, elegant, brilliantly made wines and also for its range of autochthonous varietals: the only red grape they lack would seem to be Nerello Mascalese! Two terrific Insolias, the IGT less structured and intense than the DOC wine; a wonderfully orange-scented Grillo named Zagra: a juicy, stylish Nero d'Avola; a highly perfumed, Moscato-like, Frappato which will bring sunshine to a cloudy English summer; a dark-nosed, chocolatey smooth Cerasuolo di Vittoria; and a deep, plummy, mouthcoating, elegant Nero d'Avola, Il Moro. We could have listed another four wines from Valle dell' Acate, but felt we had to stop somewhere!

Wines

http://www.valledellacate.net/

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