Bertolino Majara Terre Siciliane

About Bertolino Majara Terre Siciliane

Bertolino Majara Terre Siciliane is a red wine with a medium body and a light and elegant tannin structure. In the nose, you get dark berries, tobacco, and spices, while the palate is offered cherries and pomegranate. It goes really well with light meat dishes, charcuterie, and grilled vegetables.

About Bertolino

Azienda Agricola Bertolino was founded in 2017 thanks to the two Bertolino brothers who decide to restore the old family wine in Cataratto. The goal is to restore the pride of natural wine in the area of western Sicily. The vineyard is organically and biodynamically grown, and the work in the cellar is accurate and linked to the natural philosophy. The pair grow two indigenous grapes, Catarratto and Parpato, the latter thought to be a red grape not related to Frappato, but to Grenache or Carignan.

About the grape Parpato

I have no idea. It’s not Frappato. It is not in Jancis Robinson’s Wine Grapes book. Your guess is as good as mine. It kinda tastes a bit like Carignan, so it could be that grape.

About Terre Siciliane IGT Wine

Terre Siciliane is the region-wide IGT title for Sicily. It was created in November 2011, to take the place of Sicilia IGT and sit underneath the newly-created Sicilia DOC. The name Terre Siciliane translates literally as “Sicilian lands”. Just like its predecessor, it covers the entire Sicilia region. This comprises the main island of Sicily and each of its satellite islands, including the Aeolian Islands (which also have their own Salina IGT title) and Pantelleria.

In keeping with the stylistic freedom of the IGT category, Terre Siciliane IGT wines can be made in virtually any style: red, white or rosé, still or sparkling, dry or sweet. Naturally, given Sicily’s strong focus on its traditional grape varieties, the likes of Catarratto, Inzolia, and Nerello Mascalese feature in wines produced under the title. However, in 2017 rules were passed stipulating that all wines made from either the white grape variety Grillo or Nero d’Avola had to be classified as Sicilia DOC. Thus the two main local varieties were ruled out of the IGT. But the island is also known for its focus on the international wine market, and thus the “international” grape varieties (e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay). These will also make up an important part of the Terre Siciliane wine portfolio over time.

Until its promotion into a DOC, Sicilia IGT had been Sicily’s most widely used IGT title by far, used for many hundreds of wines. It now accounts for more than 60 percent of all DOC production here. Somewhat controversially, the promotion was not accompanied by the more stringent production conditions typically associated with DOC titles.

This raised an important question: what incentive would there be for the island’s wine producers to use the new Terre Siciliane title when their wines had just received a “free upgrade” to DOC status? At the time of its creation, there were some concerns that the new IGT would be seldom used.