Wine With Wanda

Sun, Soul, and Song: Savor Sicily with the Wines of Donnafugata

When exploring wines, José Rallo, CEO and Co-Owner of Donnafugata
encourages everyone to "Discover Sicily. Trust Sicily. You'll be in Sicily with just a sip!"

For the season finale of Wine With Wanda on Instagram Live, I wished for a vibrant, charming, and clever guest, who also makes beautiful wine. 5th generation vintner José Rallo was the obvious choice. CEO & co-owner of the award-winning Sicilian winery Donnafugata, José is a savvy businesswoman with the soul of an artist.

When José is described as the face and voice of Donnafugata, they really mean it. A talented vocalist, José believes in the synergy of wine and music, and her communications strategy includes events such as the "Donnafugata Music & Wine Live" events. José has recorded two CD's and performed around the world at prestigious venues, including the Blue Note in New York City.

Donnafugata was founded in 1983 by José's parents, Gabriella and Giacomo Rallo, and her brother Antonio is the winemaker. Donnafugata is celebrated for their terroir-driven style that expresses an authentic taste of Sicily and the Sicilia DOC. I visited Donnafugata in 2017; it was a magical experience.

Watch the video above, on Instagram, or YouTube to learn more about Donnafugata and to hear José sing a lovely snippet of the jazz song An Older Man Is Like An Elegant Wine. We also discussed the inspiration behind Donnafugata's bold artistic labels and the name of the winery: Donnafugata means woman in flight or escaped woman. 

During our chat, we sipped Donnafugata Sur Sur Grillo 2019 Sicilia DOC ($21) and Donnafugata Mille e Una Notte 2016 Sicilia DOC ($85).


Sur Sur is the first Donnafugata wine that I ever tasted and this sentimental favorite never disappoints me. Crafted from the native Sicilian grape Grillo, this is a beautifully textured and aromatic white wine. Juicy flavors of peach and melon are revved up by mouthwatering minerality and salinity. A sultry sip of Sicilian sunshine! 

 

First produced in 1995, Mille e Una Notte is Donnafugata's flagship wine, and José describes it as the dream of her father Giacomo. The name Mille e Una Notte was selected by her mother Gabriella -- when she tasted the wine for the first time, she told her husband that it was like the powerful literary masterpiece A Thousand and One Nights. A velvety and rich blend of Nero d'Avola, Petit Verdot, and Syrah; it is a big but graceful wine with gorgeous flavors of black fruits, herbs, and earth. Stunning now, classic and elegant Mille e Una Notte is crafted to age beautifully. 

Passionate Pioneers: Bodega Catena Zapata Continues to Innovate and Elevate Argentine Wines

Dynamic is an inadequate descriptor for 4th generation vintner Dr. Laura Catena, Managing Director of Bodega Catena Zapata in Mendoza, Argentina. Known across the globe as one of the most compelling champions of Argentine wines, Laura is also a graduate of Harvard University and Stanford Medical School. For many years, Laura balanced her demanding career as a physician with guiding her family's celebrated winery to greater heights. 


Bodega Catena Zapata's La Pirámide winery in Mendoza. 
image courtesy of Catena Zapata

Malbec may seem ubiquitous now, but during our recent Instagram Live chat Laura shared the challenges she faced in the early 90's when trying to introduce Catena Zapata's wines to the United States. Catena Zapata set a new standard for quality in South America and is widely regarded as the pioneer of Malbec and high-altitude viticulture from Argentina. Catena Zapata's terroir-driven wines elegantly reveal Malbec's full range of expression. 

Watch the video above, or visit Instagram or YouTube, to view my conversation with Laura. While discussing her family's winemaking legacy and philosophy, we also chatted about her charming new book, Gold in the Vineyards: Illustrated Stories of the World’s Most Celebrated Vineyards ($14.99).  


I had the pleasure of visiting Catena Zapata during my 2015 trip to Mendoza. We didn’t meet at that time, but since then I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Laura speak at several wine events in New York City. A few years ago, Laura said something that really stuck with me and I quote her often. Someone once asked Laura what’s next for Argentina after Malbec. She wondered if they would also ask Burgundy what’s next after Pinot Noir. Well played, Laura! 


Catena Malbec 2018 ($24) is a great introduction to the Catena Zapata style. A blend of grapes from four different vineyards, it is intense and velvety with no rough edges. Ripe but not jammy, with lovely kisses of spice and flinty minerality.


Bold and balanced, Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino 2017 ($120) is a wine that powerfully expresses the complexity and charms of Malbec. High-altitude old vines combined with meticulous winemaking all add up to a very special sip with beautifully integrated flavors of fruit, earth, spice, and minerality. The stunning label for Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino tells the story of Malbec by depicting four female figures who represent different landmarks of the grape’s history in France and its ascendence in Argentina. The women pictured on the bottle are Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Immigrant, Madam Phylloxera, and Laura's sister, Adrianna Catena.

Of course, Malbec is Argentina's flagship varietal, but it also produces other high quality wines. I've noticed that many of Mendoza's most celebrated Malbec producers have a great affection and aptitude for Chardonnay. Catena Alta Chardonnay 2017($33) is a stellar sip. Crafted from Chardonnay grapes from 2 high-altitude vineyards, it is rich and juicy without sacrificing crispness.