Ruby red colour, with violet flecks. On the nose, there are notes of morello cherries, and caramel. The palate is mouth-filling, with excellent structure, soft tannins and a long finish.

Santa Tresa is situated in the commune of Vittoria, in the south east of Sicily, at 24 metres above sea level. The estate covers 50 hectares, 39 of which are vineyards.

When we acquired Santa Tresa in 2001, we discovered indigenous clones of Frappato, Nero d’Avola and Grillo, which are very typical of the region. Frappato is an excellent indigenous variety from Vittoria, Grillo originates from western Sicily, while Nero d’Avola comes from Avola, a small town a few kiolometres from Vittoria.

At Santa Tresa we also cultivate non-indigenous grape varieties rarely found in Sicily, such as Viognier from France, which has found ideal growing conditions here at Santa Tresa.

The grapes come from our Santa Tresa Estate in the Vittoria area of South East Sicily. In order to cultivate these delicate grapes, time and resources are invested in canopy management and undersoil irrigation to ensure the grapes do not suffer from excessive sun exposure or dehydration. The soil is famous for its red colour ('terra rossa' soil) deriving from its iron richness. The topsoil is one meter deep, sitting on limestone over a mixture of the other rocks.

The yield is strictly reduced to 52hl/ha, the equivalent to only 6.933 bottles. This is in fact one of the lowest yields of all Italian DOCGs.

We hand-pick each grape variety separately when the grapes are at the peak of maturity – the Nero d’Avola around the middle of September and the Frappato at the end of September. The grapes are very carefully put into small containers of 15kg.

After a very gentle destemming, the Nero d’Avola grapes are fermented in 30hl Slavonian oak botti, at about 18-24°C. The number of delestages and remontages is decided by tasting. Once fermentation is completed, the juice remains on its skins for around 15 days. After it has been separated from the skins, it is put back into oak botti, where malolactic fermentation occurs naturally. The Frappato is fermented in stainless steel tanks at a temperature of 18-20°C, cooler than for the Nero d’Avola in order to retain the fruity notes. After fermentation, the juice is left on the skins for 8-10 days, after which malolactic fermentation takes place.

Once the malolactic fermentation is completed, the wines are blended together to create the new Cerasuolo, the majority of which is aged in oak botti of between 30-60hl, with around 15% being aged in French oak barriques. Oak ageing lasts around one year.

Cerasuolo is best served at 18-20°C. A very versatile wine, it goes well with light meat dishes, tuna and baked fish.