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Gurrieri Frappato
Gurrieri Frappato
Grapes — 100% Frappato
Region — Terre Siciliane IGT, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Ragusa, Sicily, Italy
Tasting Notes — Translucent ruby, light and luminous — more Pinot Noir than Nero d'Avola in the glass. Red cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, and a whisper of black pepper and dried flowers on the nose, with hints of medicinal herbs and wild strawberry underneath. The palate is fresh, silky, and light on its feet — fine tannins, lively acidity, and a pleasingly savory finish with dried tobacco leaf and a mineral thread that keeps you reaching back into the glass. Refreshing and deeply charming, with a complexity that has no business being as interesting as it is for a wine this light in body and price.
The Wine — 100% Frappato from Gurrieri's organically farmed vineyards in the Chiaramonte Gulfi countryside, on calcareous clay soils at 260–300 meters above sea level in the Iblei Mountains — the rolling limestone highlands of southeastern Sicily. Frappato is indigenous to this exact corner of Sicily, a genetic offspring of Sangiovese with a similarly delicate structure and aromatic verve that makes it the natural lightness to Nero d'Avola's power. In the Val di Noto, it is most commonly encountered as the junior partner in Cerasuolo di Vittoria — Sicily's only DOCG — but vinified in purity here it reveals a personality that is entirely its own: salty, spicy, fruit-forward, and irresistibly drinkable. Only 3,000 bottles produced.
Farming — Certified organic by ICEA (Italian Association for Organic Agriculture) and the EU's Bioagricert. No chemical products of any kind in the vineyard. Grapes are hand harvested in two passes — an early pass and a later pass — to capture different stages of maturity across the same parcel and achieve maximum complexity from a single variety. Fruit is transported to the cellar in small boxes to protect the integrity of each cluster.
Winemaking — Grapes arrive at the cellar chilled to protect against the intense Sicilian heat, then are gently crushed and fermented with long maceration in stainless steel. Aged six months in tank and three months in bottle before release. No oak of any kind. Clean, minimal, and entirely in service of the fruit and the site.
The Producer — The Gurrieri story begins in 1972, when Vincenzo and Graziella Gurrieri — an electrician and a kindergarten teacher — purchased their first vineyard in Chiaramonte Gulfi, driven entirely by a shared passion for the land. For nearly four decades they cultivated grapes for family use, building a deep knowledge of their terroir with no commercial ambition whatsoever. In 2010, their children Giovanni and Angela — both engineers by training, both raised in the vineyard — made the family's first commercial vintage, bottling wines under the Gurrieri label from the 6.2 hectares they now farm across five districts between Chiaramonte Gulfi, Mazzarrone, and Comiso. Father Vincenzo — "Don Vicè," the tireless heart of the vineyard — still works the vines. The whole family works the winery together: Graziella runs the administration, Giovanni and Angela lead production, and the next generation is already being raised among the rows. A true family project in every sense.
Drink It With — Pasta al pomodoro, grilled tuna, lamb ragù, aged Pecorino, wild mushroom dishes, or anything that benefits from a red wine with the freshness of a white and the soul of Sicily.
Gurrieri Frappato
Grapes — 100% Frappato
Region — Terre Siciliane IGT, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Ragusa, Sicily, Italy
Tasting Notes — Translucent ruby, light and luminous — more Pinot Noir than Nero d'Avola in the glass. Red cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, and a whisper of black pepper and dried flowers on the nose, with hints of medicinal herbs and wild strawberry underneath. The palate is fresh, silky, and light on its feet — fine tannins, lively acidity, and a pleasingly savory finish with dried tobacco leaf and a mineral thread that keeps you reaching back into the glass. Refreshing and deeply charming, with a complexity that has no business being as interesting as it is for a wine this light in body and price.
The Wine — 100% Frappato from Gurrieri's organically farmed vineyards in the Chiaramonte Gulfi countryside, on calcareous clay soils at 260–300 meters above sea level in the Iblei Mountains — the rolling limestone highlands of southeastern Sicily. Frappato is indigenous to this exact corner of Sicily, a genetic offspring of Sangiovese with a similarly delicate structure and aromatic verve that makes it the natural lightness to Nero d'Avola's power. In the Val di Noto, it is most commonly encountered as the junior partner in Cerasuolo di Vittoria — Sicily's only DOCG — but vinified in purity here it reveals a personality that is entirely its own: salty, spicy, fruit-forward, and irresistibly drinkable. Only 3,000 bottles produced.
Farming — Certified organic by ICEA (Italian Association for Organic Agriculture) and the EU's Bioagricert. No chemical products of any kind in the vineyard. Grapes are hand harvested in two passes — an early pass and a later pass — to capture different stages of maturity across the same parcel and achieve maximum complexity from a single variety. Fruit is transported to the cellar in small boxes to protect the integrity of each cluster.
Winemaking — Grapes arrive at the cellar chilled to protect against the intense Sicilian heat, then are gently crushed and fermented with long maceration in stainless steel. Aged six months in tank and three months in bottle before release. No oak of any kind. Clean, minimal, and entirely in service of the fruit and the site.
The Producer — The Gurrieri story begins in 1972, when Vincenzo and Graziella Gurrieri — an electrician and a kindergarten teacher — purchased their first vineyard in Chiaramonte Gulfi, driven entirely by a shared passion for the land. For nearly four decades they cultivated grapes for family use, building a deep knowledge of their terroir with no commercial ambition whatsoever. In 2010, their children Giovanni and Angela — both engineers by training, both raised in the vineyard — made the family's first commercial vintage, bottling wines under the Gurrieri label from the 6.2 hectares they now farm across five districts between Chiaramonte Gulfi, Mazzarrone, and Comiso. Father Vincenzo — "Don Vicè," the tireless heart of the vineyard — still works the vines. The whole family works the winery together: Graziella runs the administration, Giovanni and Angela lead production, and the next generation is already being raised among the rows. A true family project in every sense.
Drink It With — Pasta al pomodoro, grilled tuna, lamb ragù, aged Pecorino, wild mushroom dishes, or anything that benefits from a red wine with the freshness of a white and the soul of Sicily.