A red wine from heroic seaside viticulture

FAVINIA LE SCIABICHE

IGT Terre Siciliane

Perricone and Nero d’Avola

Favinia La Muciara comes from the native grape varieties of Grillo, Catarratto and Zibibbo cultivated on the Calamoni Estate on Favignana. It is a wine that reflects the spirit of this unique and extreme land. The grapes are grown at sea level, the shore lying just 10 metres from the vineyard which sits on layers of Quaternary bio-calcarenite limestone—stratified over the centuries according to the rate of sedimentation to about half a metre. Among the farming practices employed by Firriato on Calamoni, one is the use of Neptune grass as a natural fertiliser for the vineyard. The wind blows the dried leaves of this marine plant in from the sea, providing the vines with a supply of nutrients. In addition to this, the Mediterranean breeze creates a marine aerosol effect which gives the wine a distinctive saline hint enveloped in elegant aromatic notes.

In the Calamoni Estate, the excellence of the native vine varieties of Nero d’Avola and Perricone is enhanced with the sensory properties of grapes ripened in an extreme environment in terms of its climate conditions and vicinity to the sea.


  • Appellation: IGT Terre Siciliane
  • Vine:  Perricone and Nero d’Avola
  • Terroir: Favignana island- Calamoni di Favignana
  • Soil: Quaternary bio-limestone with high presence of marine fossils
  • Exposure: south (0 mt. a.s.l)
SENSORIAL PROFILE & WINEMAKING
SENSORIAL PROFILE & WINEMAKING

Production Area

Tenuta Calamoni

The Calamoni Estate lies on the central southern slope of the island, just a stone’s throw from the sea, on the narrowest part of this area of land facing the Marsala coast. The vineyard stretches over more than 5 hectares, enclosed by traditional dry stone walls.

Favinia le Sciabiche

The Egadi Islands Red

Nero d’Avola and Perricone are two symbols of Sicilian oenology. The first is widespread across the whole of Sicily and is well-known on an international level. Perricone, on the other hand, is a variety which risked sinking into oblivion, but which has been recovered and enhanced by Firriato. These are the two native red grape varieties which go to make Favinia Le Sciabiche. Planting these two vines in a seaside terroir was the start of a challenge Firriato wanted to undertake to test the plants’ adaptability to soil and climate conditions differing from those of the Trapani agricultural area. The results have been surprising and sometimes unpredictable. A glaring example is the ripening time of Nero d’Avola and Syrah on Favignana. Unlike the estates in the Trapani agricultural area, where these grapes have different harvest times, on the island of Favignana these grapes ripen and are harvested at the same time.

Favinia le Sciabiche

The Marine Influence

Favinia La Sciabiche is the red label coming from the unique vineyard of the Egadi archipelago where red grapes of the native Sicilian ampelographic heritage grow: Nero d’Avola e Perricone. The grapes are grown at sea level, the shore lying just 10 metres from the vineyard. The particular pedoclimatic context influenced by sea proximity characterizes the sensorial profile of this wine , releasing briny notes in the glass. Winds work like a “marine nebulizer” by spreading nebulized sea water in the vineyards that contributes to influence the aromatic profiles of grapes.

Favinia le Sciabiche

The Sea Viticulture

Viticulture practiced on small Islands is an inconceivable challenge under an effort point of view. Firriato understood the great value of Favignana’s land. Emerged lands of close geological epochs and soils riched in marine fossils represent the viticultural scenario where Firriato, for the first time in the history of Favignana, has introduced a viticulture destined to high quality wine production.
At the beginning of this agronomic challenge there was no scientific literature adivised about what vine varietal was supposed to be planted or any certainty relating possible results after vinification. An experimental viticulture impossible to find everywhere.

FAVINIA LE SCIABICHE

The characteristics of vintages

FAVINIA LE SCIABICHE

Awards

Paired with

Cavatelli with Tuna Ragu

Heat the onion in a pan with a splash of olive oil. Add about 1/3 of the tuna—the leaner and darker parts (because they are richer in blood) and brown. Add the passata, about 300ml of water, and the tomato puree

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Firriato Winery, Authentic Terroir