The “look” for Nostru is based on symbols of culture and life, taking the authentic Sicilian Majolica ceramics as our vision. The characters predicted on the bottles are truly original and impossible to forget.  Lively and cheerful, these styles will stand out and capture the imagination of wine lovers.

Cortese Nostru Nerello Mascalese is bright ruby-red in colour, vibrant, with a lovely luminosity. The aroma is fine and complex, reminiscent of a variety of red fruits, with a sophisticated spicy character. On the palate, the elegance of the volcanic terroir shines through. The tannins are silky-smooth, balanced with a remarkable mineral character.

About the region and producer

While Stefano and Marina Girelli are from Trento in the extreme north of Italy, it is the island of Sicily in the country’s deep south that has captured their hearts. Stefano realised many years ago that Sicily was generally underrated as quality wine producing region and that the potential for making premium wines was tremendous. Crucially, he also recognised that conditions for producing organic, low-intervention wines are perfect on the Sicilian island.

The previous owner of Azienda Agricola Cortese was the formidable matriarch lady Giovanna Cortese. It was some years ago that Giovanna first decided to sell the estate after she realised that she had reached an age when she couldn’t run it by herself, and it had become clear that no one in the family was going to take over.  A true Sicilian, Giovanna is a tough negotiator and it took six years to reach a final agreement on the purchase of Cortese in 2016.

With a total vineyard area of 114,290 ha/282,296 acres, Sicily produced 6 million hl of wine in 2013, making it Italy’s second most important wine region after the Veneto.  In terms of climate and geology Sicily is often, rightfully, considered a continent itself, running counter to its perceived image as a hot, arid island. Climates range from distinctly alpine on Mount Etna, where vineyards up to 1,000 m/3,280 ft elevation are no exception, to the subtropical on the island of pantelleria, which is closer to Tunisia than it is to the province of Trapani to which it administratively belongs. The island’s centre can be hot and dry, although at higher elevations there can be favourable diurnal temperature variability, while many regions are close enough to the coast to benefit from such constant winds that fungal diseases are a rarity except in the wettest of years.  (source - jancisrobinson.com)

Vineyard and Wine Making

The name Nerello Mascalese originates from Mascali, a small village in the foothills of Mount Etna. Nerello Mascalese is a grape variety which needs a significant difference of temperature between day and night during the final stages of ripening in order to express its character fully.

The grapes for Cortese Nostru Nerello Mascalese are grown in vineyards around 400 metres above sea level and vines are trained using the Guillot method. The grapes are hand-picked, then immediately vinified, beginning with de-stemming.

The must is fermented on the skins with frequent remontages (this is where the juice is pumped from the base of the tank back over the skins to extract colour, tannin and flavour) during the early stages of fermentation. Once fermentation is finished, they continue the skin contact for about 15 days with one very soft remontage a day. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally once separated from the skins. The wine is kept on it very fine lees for about 6-8 months before being bottled.