An Aitken Wines favourite!

Cortese Vanedda Bianco Organico is intensely golden in colour. Prominent notes of coconut and tropical fruit with an undercurrent of gentle spices. Richly textured with well-integrated acidity and a long length. A short fermentation on the skins gives a full body and texture that we can't get enough of!

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

To Produce Vanedda Bianco Organico, the people at Agricola Cortese were inspired by ancient Sicilian traditions, resulting in a unique, highly individual wine. They took two classic Sicilian grape varieties, Cataratto and Grillo, which are fermented on their skins, just as wine was made in years gone by.
HARVEST
The grapes are carefully hand-harvested into small baskets and only the best
quality are selected to make Vanedda. The baskets of grapes are refrigerated
at 10°C for around 24 hours.
VINIFICATION
After this is completed the wine is carefully de-stemmed and fermented on the skins for at least 2 days, after which it is separated from the skins and the fermentation is finished in 30hl oak botti. Following fermentation, the wine stays on the lees for at least 7 months and remains in bottle for a further 6 months before being released on to the market.
PRODUCTION
Vanedda has a very limited production – in 2016 they produced 3200 bottles
and in 2017 around 10,000.