Mount Etna is the best appellation in Sicily for fine wine, but there is a serious competitor north-east of Etna, towards the straights of Messina, called Faro. Ciro Biondi, our producer on Etna, suggested we talk to a tiny grower in Faro called Giovanni Scarfone, and Giovanni sent us some bottles to try. I remember clearly that first taste; even when another great producer has recommended a wine, the number of samples that bring a broad smile to my face is very small, but this wine did just that!

Faro is similar to Etna Rosso in that both appellations contain Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio, and both are in north-eastern Sicily. Faro is different from Etna in

that it also contains the grape Nocera, for added acidity; it is grown at lower altitude, 800 feet above sea level compared with as much as 2,600 or more for Etna; and the soil is limestone and clay, rather than the granular lava of Etna. Despite those differences, the similarity in flavor is clear, and both wines show an uncanny similarity in structure and even flavor to Pinot Noir. Although a lower altitude would normally mean an earlier harvest, the particular circumstances in Faro mean that the growth cycle is as long as that on Etna, with harvest normally taking place well into October. (At the same time or even later than Barolo, in other words.)

Giovanni Scarfone's family winery is called Bonavita. I think this is excellent red wine, of the same level of quality as Biondi's Etna Rosso.

www.bonavitafaro.it

Faro

Varieties: 60% Nerello Mascalese, 30% Nerello Capuccio, 10% Nocera harvested in the beginning or middle of October

Agriculture: estate grown, sustainable, with no use of herbicide or pesticide, no chemical fertiliser, minimal applications of copper and sulfur against mildew

Vinification: no sulfur or other additions before fermentation; about 15 days of maceration with manual punch-down before a light pressing with a basket press

Aging: 16 months in a combination of puncheons and barriques, all at least three years old (ie no new wood flavor at all)

Production: 350 cases 

Rosato *not yet available in CA

The appellation is IGT Sicilia Rosato, but this is made entirely of estate-grown Faro fruit, picked in the first third of October. The grapes undergo 12 hours of maceration on the skins and are then fermented in small wooden barrels with no temperature control; this is a very simple and unusual winemaking technique for what is effectively a white wine with short skin contact.