Marabino &

Marabino 'Rosso di Contrada' Nero d'Avola 2018

Regular price$28.00
/

Style
  • In stock, ready to ship

 Direct Press Selection 

January 2023

When we were looking for Biodynamic wines for this month's selections, we were lucky to time it perfectly with a visit from Pierpaolo Messina of Marabino to Brooklyn. Marabino's 29 hectares are in the Noto Valley in Sicily, between the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas (familiar to viewers of the White Lotus). Biodynamic farming here is enhanced by a plethora of wild herbs that are native to Sicily, and hot winds from Africa that eliminate any threat of mildew. All of the vines are trained using the 3000 year-old albarello method, low to the ground to reduce the distance from the leaves to the water in the root systems. It is a highly effective method for this hot climate but also very labor intensive, as every vine must be worked by hand. Pierpaolo and his team also tie the vines using dried herbs instead of the more commonly used plastic. He and his wife dislike plastic's ecological footprint so much they even refuse to buy Legos for their son.

The Rosso di Contrada comes from a blend of four parcels, covering all the soil types of their vineyards: poor white limestone, rocky limestone, black alluvial clay, and yellow clay. I was shocked to find that the grapes were picked in late to mid-October, which would normally mean a very big, ripe wine. To avoid this, the wine is made in an 'infusion' method with very light extraction. It's still got plenty of ripe, juicy notes, however, with strawberry, blueberry, black cherry, and fruit leather notes matched with complex tannins and a lifted, mineral energy. It's a surprisingly finessed for a wine of this much substance, so Pierpaolo recommends pairing it with bluefish, red tuna, sardines, and eggplant dishes with capers and dried tomatoes. Just 18 mg/liter of sulfur added. Jonathan Kemp

Order before noon and get it the same day — anywhere in Brooklyn, Queens, or Manhattan for just $15. 

Orders over $190 qualify for free delivery.

For our neighborhood customers, orders over $95 qualify for free delivery.  (See map for the neighborhood delivery zone). 

Our daily delivery window is 2pm to 6pm and customers will receive real-time notifications.

For wine delivery outside of New York we ship via common carrier.

We currently do not ship wine to the following states: AL, AR, CO, DE, GA, HI, IA, KS, KY, NC, MD, MS, MT, OK, PA, SD, UT, VT, WI. As statutory laws are constantly changing, please note that this list is updated frequently, and acceptance of an order does not guarantee that we will ultimately be able to ship wine to you.

By law, we are not permitted to ship spirits outside of New York State. 

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.


Recently viewed