Syracuse (wine)

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DOC Siracusa (formerly Moscato di Siracusa DOC)

Syracuse has a winemaking tradition that goes back thousands of years, which certainly goes back to the first Greek settlement and the founding of the city in the 8th century BC, but may be even older. The DOC / DOP ( Denominazione di Origine controllata / protetta ) Moscato di Siracusa DOC , which was renamed Siracusa DOC in 2011, has existed within the municipal boundaries of Syracuse since 1973 . The denomination was last updated in 2014. To the south and west is the much larger DOC Noto (formerly Moscato di Noto ), which is also famous for a nutmeg wine.

history

The origin of these wines is traced back to a product called Pollium Syracusae in ancient sources , which was produced at the time of the mythical, historically inconceivable tyrant Pollio Argivo in the 8th century BC. Should have been pressed in the region. The sweet wine called Haluntium by Pliny the Elder is also said to come from Syracuse, but ancient Haluntium, today's San Marco d'Alunzio on the northeast coast of Sicily, is a good 200 kilometers from Syracuse. The Moscato di Siracusa would therefore be the oldest wine on the island, a title that is also claimed by other regions, particularly the neighboring DOC Noto and its main product, the Moscato di Noto . Muscat wines (including probably also liqueur wines) from Syracuse were a valued and much sought-after export product throughout the Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century. In addition to the white, there also seems to have been a red nutmeg, but nothing is known about it today. Although the denomination was established and regulated as Moscato di Siracusa DOC in 1973 , the wine itself disappeared completely from the portfolio of the few remaining companies in the following years. It was not until 1997 that the first wines of this type were pressed again in Syracuse. Today, seven wineries produce nutmeg wines on a very small scale.

The original name Moscato di Siracusa referred to the best-known product, a sweet dessert wine that, once highly famous and valued, has now completely disappeared, and has only been produced and marketed in very small quantities again in recent years. In addition to many other factors, the competition for Moscato di Noto , which was considered the most sought-after and expensive of its kind in Sicily, contributed to the decline and temporary disappearance of Muscat wine from Syracuse. Legend has it that the origin of this wine is traced back to the earliest time the city was founded by Greek colonists, which is why it is occasionally referred to as the oldest in Sicily. With the renaming of the denomination, the names of the two main products were also changed to Siracusa Moscato and Siracusa Passito , but the wines are often still marketed under the old and better-known name.

In addition to the Moscato di Pantelleria and the Moscato di Noto , the Siracusa Moscato is the third internationally known sweet wine in Sicily that is made from pure Muscat grapes, in this case from the yellow muscatel .

Location, soils and climate

Partly agricultural land. Petrochemical plants in the background

The DOC Siracusa is almost entirely within the boundaries of the city of Syracuse in the Syracuse Free Community Consortium . In 1848 the estimated vineyard area in the area of ​​today's DOC was 1400 hectares, today it is less than 40 hectares. Today's vineyards are mainly in the west of the area, about halfway between Syracuse and Floridia , and in the extreme north of the denomination in a coastal strip on the Ionian Sea . The reasons for the decline are similar in most of the wine regions that mainly produce sweet wines: the phylloxera disaster that reached Syracuse in the late 1980s and the sharp decline in demand for wines of this type that soon followed led to the fact that many vineyards were opened were no longer replanted. For the wine-growing region of Syracuse an additional problem was that the city expanded into regions that were previously used for agriculture and huge businesses, especially the petrochemical industry, settled along the coast and in the former wine-growing areas. In addition to the loss of land, these farms caused and continue to cause serious environmental damage, which in some cases makes any agricultural production in areas that are still undeveloped impossible. In the region, this area is called Trinacria nera (= Black Triangle ).

Wherever viticulture is possible, it is practiced on volcanic, sometimes also on calcareous, light and permeable soils. Water stress is hardly an issue in the area, as the vines reach sufficient layers of groundwater.

The climate is Mediterranean , with hot, dry summers and very mild, humid winters. In June, July and August there is hardly any precipitation, the average temperatures are close to or above 30 ° C. Highs of 35 ° C and above are common. In the winter months it rains enough, frost days are very rare.

generation

According to the denomination, the following wines can be produced:

Blending wines:

  • Siracusa bianco - must consist of at least 40% Moscato bianco . A maximum of 60% other white grape varieties approved for cultivation in the Sicily region may be added.
  • Siracusa rosso - must consist of at least 65% Nero d'Avola . A maximum of 35% other red grape varieties approved for cultivation in the Sicily region may be added.

Almost single-variety wines:
(They must consist of at least 85% of the named grape variety. A maximum of 15% other analogous grape varieties that are approved for cultivation in the Sicily region may be added.)

  • Siracusa Moscato and Siracusa Passito (Moscato bianco)
  • Siracusa Moscato Spumante
  • Siracusa Nero d'Avola
  • Siracusa Syrah

The best-known and most demanding products are the nutmeg wines Siracusa Moscato DOC (formerly Moscato di Siracusa ) and the Siracusa Passito DOC (formerly Moscato di Siracusa Passito ), made 85% from grapes of the yellow muscatel . In addition to the two dessert wines, the following products can also be marketed as DOC-certified wines: two dry red wines (one 85% from Nero d'Avola , the other 85% Syrah ), a dry or sweet sparkling wine , 85% from the yellow muscatel and a white wine called Siracusa bianco , (40% from the yellow muscatel grape, the rest from white grape varieties permitted in Sicily). As accompanying wines in these cuvées there are occasionally those from the Albanello Bianco, which was once highly valued in the region (which has now largely disappeared from this denomination as well as from all of Sicily), and a rosso , which consists of 65% Nero d'Avola got to. The rather large variety of wines, which does not always promote the quality of the wine, is typical of many Sicilian DOCs.

The Moscato is made dry or sweet. Dry nutmeg wines from Syracuse are light yellow in color and usually have an alcohol level of 13–14 percent by volume , with 4–5 grams / liter of total acid . They are very rarely on the market. The sweet version is bright golden yellow, later slightly amber, they are slightly less alcoholic, the residual sugar is around 20–30 grams / liter. Both wines have an intense nutmeg aroma, well-made young sweet wines have a fresh orange tone, while well-aged wines have increased notes of dried fruit, especially raisins and apricots.

The Moscato di Siracusa Passito is always dolce ( sweet ) on the market, but with a residual sugar content of around 40–60 grams / liter it is more abboccato ( semi-sweet ) in terms of taste . Young it is bright orange-yellow, when it ages it takes on amber and copper tones. It is made from late harvest grapes that have been air-dried for at least 21 days (late August to early September). The fruit and blossom aromas are more intense in these wines, which are usually around 15 percent alcohol by volume, while the typical muscat tone is somewhat less distinct. Both wines were remarkable products; Whether the modern nutmeg wines from the region can match the old quality cannot yet be assessed.

For a long time, the other wines of this denomination were only average goods sold regionally; It was not until the beginning of our century that major investments were made again in vineyards and cellar technology that enable the production of high-quality wines, some notable examples of which have already reached international trade. In particular, the calcareous soils in the north of the denomination allow wines to be made with an acid structure that is excellent for southern conditions. Wines from the international red wine grape Syrah, which is well adapted to the heat, also show promising potential.

Until the 1930s, the area of ​​Syracuse and the neighboring wine-growing areas of Floridia were also known for dry and sweet white wines from the Albanello, of which the dry variant, which was reminiscent of a slightly lighter, dry Marsala , was particularly valued. Today, wines from this vine are occasionally represented to a small extent in some Siracusa bianco , and it is only since 1998 that a winery has been producing a dry, very alcoholic Albanello again.

literature

  • Bill Nesto, Frances di Savino: World of Sicilian Wine . University of California Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-520-26618-6
  • Joseph Bastianich, David Lynch: Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy. Clarcson Potter, 2012 (Reprint) ISBN 978-1-4000-9774-6 (print version)
  • Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding: The Oxford Companion to Wine. 4th edition. 2015 ISBN 978-0-19-870538-3 .
  • Valeria Camaschella (Ed.): Lexicon of Italian Wines - All DOCG & DOC wines . Hallwag, Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-7742-0756-9 , p. 294 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Disciplinare di Produzione della Denominazione di Origine Controllata (production regulations and description). (PDF) In: ismeamercati.it. November 27, 2017, accessed July 7, 2018 (Italian).
  2. ↑ Peter Nikl, Georgios Terizakis: The soul: metaphor or reality? Philosophical explorations . Transcript Bielefeld 2010, ISBN 978-3-8376-1268-4 , p. 227
  3. ↑ a b c d e Syracuse . In: Bill Nesto, Frances di Savino: World of Sicilian Wine . University of California Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-520-26618-6 .
  4. ↑ The Moscatos of Pantelleria and beyond . In: Joseph Bastianich, David Lynch: Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy. Clarcson Potter.
  5. ↑ Viticulture in figures 2017. (PDF) In: VQPRD d'Italia 2017. federdoc.com, accessed on June 21, 2018 (Italian).
  6. ↑ Climate data from Syracuse
  7. ↑ Author's note: Thus, in the central Sicilian DOC Contea di Sclafani , established in 1996, 21 (!) DOC wines are permitted.