A white wine from heroic seaside viticulture
Favinia La Muciara
IGT Terre Siciliane
Grillo, Catarratto e Zibibbo
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.
- Appellation: IGT Terre Siciliane
- Vine: Grillo, Catarratto and Zibibbo
- Terroir: marine
- Soil: Quaternary bio-limestone with high presence of marine fossils
- Exposure: south (0 mt. a.s.l)
Production Area
Tenuta di Calamoni di Favignana
The Calamoni Estate on Favignana 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 la Muciara
The vineyard of the Egadi Islands
La Muciara is first label from the Favinia line produced by Firriato on Favignana. More than a century after their disappearance, vines were reintroduced to the island and today the Calamoni Estate remains the only vineyard present on the Egadi archipelago, and the only one planted on an island that is not of volcanic origin. Over an area of five hectares, the Di Gaetano family have skilfully introduced the native vine varieties of Perricone, Nero d’Avola, Grillo, Zibibbo and Catarratto, up against an extreme viticultural environment thanks to the complex soil and climate conditions that make the island a natural laboratory for the study of the vineyard in such unique conditions. The sea’s vicinity, the breath of Foehn wind, and the natural fertiliser from Neptune grass and marine fossils are only some of the distinguishing features of wines from this heroic seaside viticulture on Favignana.
Favinia la Muciara
The Marine Influence
Favinia La Muciara is the first label produced by Firriato and the first wine coming from the reintroduction of vitis vinifera in this strip of Mediterranean sea. Nowadays the vineyard of the Calamoni of Favignana estate is the unique one of the viticulture of the Egadi archipelago. The grapes are grown at sea level, the shore lying just 10 metres from the vineyard. In addition to that the sea proximity implicates unique conditions with a steady ventilation bringing particular features to vineyards.
FAVINIA LA MUCIARA
The characteristics of vintages
2020
The vineyard on the Egadi island, strongly characterized by the marine environment, has seen a considerable lengthening of harvest times which, on specific varieties, exceeds fifteen days. A slightly lower production was recorded in Favignana with a yield per plant of under forty quintals per hectare.
2018
2018 vintage on the island remained substantially constant, with no obvious thermal excesses that could compromise a gradual development of the phenological phases of the plants. Winter and spring passed normally, while the months of June and July were particularly rich in rains with heat waves that were never too intense.
2017
The 2016/17 wine year has been characterized by an autumn and an average winter fresh and by a practically almost dry spring. Since February, with the exception of some precipitation in April, it has practically never rained. The summer, starting from the month of June, was very hot, with high thermal values, which marked their peaks between the last days of July and the first ten days of August with maximum temperatures even of 45-46 ° C.
2016
2016 was a good vintage for the Terroir Firriato, where the vineyards, benefitted from an excellent climatic trend, especially in the months of September and October with the absence of Scirocco. Throughout the year the weather remained mild, interspersed with sporadic rainfall, some of which occurred between May and June. A fresh spring and the absence of heat peaks in the summer months, favored a good performance of the phenological phases of the vines.
2014
Compared to the sour of Trapani we had the milder temperatures and less rainfall during the period before veraison. Even here there is a delay of about a week. Mostly fresh and breezy with a preponderance of winds north of the dial. Almost complete absence of Scirocco wind. For white wines is proved an excellent year of great olfactory complexity due to slow and steady ripening.
2013
The year showed to be fruitful. Either regarding the quantity, and definitely regarding the quality “very interesting wines regarding the aromatic profile” had been obtained. Because of the climate, the harvest lasted till the last week of September. The year 2013 gave a slower harvest and then a gradual maturation.
2012
The beginning of September marks the start of the harvest on the island of Favignana, a terroir that Firriato was able to exploit to its full potential thanks to its heroic vocation and the orographic features of the land that enable large amounts of healthy grapes to grow and ripen.
The 2012 vintage was marked by an average climate, with high temperatures during the summer months, which accelerated the fruit ripening process. The fruit was smaller than average in size but had sensory properties beyond expectations.
FAVINIA LA MUCIARA
Awards
2020
The WineHunter: Red Award
2016
James Suckling: 90 pts
Luigi Veronelli: 3 Red stars
Bibenda: 3 Green bunches
2014
James Suckling: 90 pts
Robert Parker: + 91 pts
Gambero Rosso: 3 red glasses
Luigi Veronelli: 3 Stars
Paired with
Sumac breaded Amberjack
Open the fish and remove the entrails, wash it, peel it and cut it into strips. Finely chop all the herbs and, in a large dish, combine them with the breadcrumbs. Add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and mix. Lightly grease the slices with a little oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and pass them in sumac-flavored breadcrumbs, pressing lightly to make the breading adhere.
