A Couple of Noteworthy Italians

From the Val di Noto in southeast Sicily comes the Morellito Cala Ianco (white grapes), a 90% Grillo/10% Catarotto blend that may be too good for its salad and seafood intentions.  This organic wonder follows its zesty/nutty nose with nuances of apricot, herbs, salinity, lemon and tangerine on the palate.  The management of this property says there is freshness and tension in this chalky textured, acid-driven effort.  Again from the winery owner comes this chestnut: "It's like diving into the ocean on a hot day."

Fonterenza's Pettirosso contrasts with Cala Ianco in every way.  Obviously, it's red wine.  It also has a pedigree, being from the Mt. Amiata neighborhood of Tuscany, although you wouldn't know it from the sparse bottle label.  The grapes here are Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo, again, if not great types, certainly more highly regarded than Sicillian Grillo.  And the marketing effort for this one is different.  Much more text is devoted to the making of this organic effort than to any colorful adjectives for the finished product.

Pettirosso is Sangiovese-based so it marries well with typical Italian pasta dishes.  Reviews available to us say "black cherries, brown spice, balsam herbs and cocoa."  Someone else said "wild berries with violet florals."  We like that.  It says the wine is complex and the sum of all the company winemaking analytics tells us this is a serious example of its type.