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A Note from Sergio
Right now, New York is in the grips of a heat wave. The temperature has been hovering around 100 degrees for almost a week, and every day brings a new heat advisory and a new air quality advisory. Being on the streets of Manhattan can feel like walking though a wet convection oven. Your clothes stick to your skin before you've gone a couple blocks and everywhere the air is thick with the hum of air conditioners.
In weather like this it's hard to remember that Manhattan is an island. Islands, unlike main lands, tend to be cool. The winds blow more often, harder, and changeably. You never really know from one moment to the next what your weather is going to be when you're on an island; weather reports are virtually meaningless. You wake up and the air is dense with fog, but a couple of hours later the sun is bright in the sky. You lay your towel and your beach chair under that hot sun and face the placid ocean, but an hour later the wind changes, and the temperature drops as the sea turns white and choppy. Storms roll in and out with the suddenness and the fury of a toddler's tantrums. The weather is capricious, immediate, and mutable.
Grape vines that grow on islands are no less subject to that weather. They too learn to deal with the vicissitudes of island climates-the hurricanes, the windstorms, the constant change. Vines have to huddle down; their roots grow deep into the ground, seeking not only nourishment but also traction. You basically end up with weather-beaten rootstock, resistant varietals and grapes that learn to flourish in unpredictable conditions. Drink the wines made from island-grown vines, and you can taste their island nature. These are wines with a tougher skin but also with a vibrancy, a vigor, a kind of wildness, and a deeply rooted sense of place.
This week, I'm happy to bring you island wines from Sicilia, Sardegna and Corsica, three islands that are no stranger to nature's whims. All these regions have deep winemaking traditions and unusual indigenous varietals, and these wines show their wild island spirit, imbued as they are with Sicilia's lava-laden soil, Sardegna's buffeting winds or Corsica's unusual location. Don't let the modest price points fool you. These wines come from some serious winemakers, people who coax the best out of their vines, and people who love the islands where they live, grow and create. Crafted by producers like COS, Giacomo Tachis-led Punica, and the rising star of Etna, Graci, these are great hot weather wines, perfect for taming hot summer nights--or for celebrating them.
My Best,
P.S. You can now follow me on Twitter: @Italian_Wine_SE.
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