Getting Short: Platani River valley & Donnafugata

Yesterday when we went to Ribera to get the exterior photo of San Nicola we decided to wander up the Platani river valley on SP 34, the route we used to return to Sciacca from Bolognetta, and then head south on SS 118 back to Cianciana.  We got more than halfway to SS 118 near the reservoir Invaso Castello when we had to turn around and head back.  In December we had come across a washout on the highway that our Nissan Juke(box) was able to crawl through.  Now, after several more heavy rains, this has been one of the wettest winters in Sicily in decades, that washout was impassable for our Opel Mokka.  The hole was too deep and steep for us to even think of trying it.  We probably should not even have tried the SP 34 route.  

In December we had driven into Ribera on SS 386, which goes around the west side of the ridge through Calamonaci.  Heading out of Ribera we took SP 34 on the east side of the ridge, just above the Platani, and it was in terrible shape.  In many places half of the road had slid off down the slopes to the east.  Not long stretches.  Maybe 50 - 60 feet worth.  The remaining road was still solid but that was a clue to what we eventually found after several kilometers of road in good condition except for mud and rocks where runoff from the fields had hit the road. Even in those areas the roadbed was in good shape, just messy.  

When we hit the washout we backtracked to Ribera, on SS 386, and then headed east towards Montallegro, which sits on the east side of the valley next to SS 115, the main southern coastal highway on the island.  We captured some photos of the valley from both ends.  The Platani was running full after a couple days of rains down here and it was still raining up in the mountains where the drainage starts.  

Upper Platani River valley

Cianciana is the town on the hill.  We were trying to get to the road along that ridgeline of the mountains

The lower valley of the Platani.  The river was really full due to rainfall in the mountains

Today we had scheduled another tasting at a Sicilian winery.  This time we went to Marsala to Donnafugata.  We have had Donnafugata wines before and we find them in one of our favorite Seattle restaurants, La Fontana so we had a good idea of what we were getting into.

We had a tasting of 4 wines with some typical Sicilian contorni.  A couple highlights.  We tried 2 Nero D'Avola.  Sherazade, a "new" Nero that is fermented in stainless and is fairly light in comparison with the Mille Notte which is held for 3 years in french oak barrels.  The other was their Ben Rye, a passato made with Zibibbo grapes, some of which are left on the vines till they basically become raisins.  The white was Vigna di Gabri, and Inzolia with Chardonnay.  These grapes are grown on the island of Pantelleria, in the Mediterranean  south of Sicily about 1/3 of the way to the North African coast.  That desert wine was delicious.  We bought a half-bottle to take home.  The question is whether or not it will make it to Arizona with us or not get past our daughter.  We also have the short bottle of passato from Feudo Arancio.  One of them has to make the trip to the sunshine and heat with us.

Chiara was our tour guide.  Since it's winter we were the only visitors so we has a private tour of the winemaking facilities and tasting. All Donnafugata wines are fermented and bottled in Marsala.  The grapes come from other regions, Pantelleria, Contessa Entellina, and I believe a vineyard we drove past south of Vittoria on our way to Pozzallo while taking Rae to the Malta ferry back in 2013.  The pressed juice is delivered to this site in Marsala for fermentation, aging and bottling.  Their automated bottling system can do 1000 bottles per hour.  They have a crew of about 5 during bottling to shut it down when something goes wrong.  While we were in the bottling room there were a couple guys working on the equipment.  They did something at the machine that unpacks the new bottles and they did something that resulted in bottles falling on the floor.  We all had a smile over that.  

They use stainless steel and concrete tanks for their fermentation and use oak barrels only for those wines they want to have a bit of the oak to impart fullness like the Mille Notte.  

Bozo in the Donnafugata courtyard

Philosophy verite

One of the fermentation rooms.

If Bozo could smell he'd love this cellar.  The scent of wine is wonderful

The Mille Notte stack of barrels

Bozo in his element.  In the hands of a lovely young woman, Chiara, in a cellar filled with fine wines

Donnafugata's reception room.  This is mainly used by the family for special occasions.  It's not available for private parties.  That's a shame.

The tasting table.

Taste pairings: Olives with Vigna di Gabri, Cheese with Sherazade, salami with Mille Notte and biscotti with Ben Rye

Do I look happier than the Boz?  You bet because I get to drink the wine.

Otay, buckwheats.  There may be more.  There may not.  We have a couple nights of dinners planned with our friends, old and new, before packing up to leave.  I may find time in there to post some more.  Until then,  

Ciao for now.