Zoltan Szabo shares his notes on a distinctive red wine from Sicily with Malcolm Jolley.

Planeta Cerasuolo Bottle Shot

Regular guest sommelier Zoltan Szabo showed up at GFR’s Summerhill studios recently with some interesting wines to taste and talk about. In the short video below, Zoltan has a look at, and a taste of, the 2014 vintage of the Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria. Cerasuolo di Vittoria is Sicily’s only DOCG recognized region, and it’s easy to remember that the first word in the name means “cherry soil”. The wine is a blend of the relatively well known Nero d’Avolo grape and the less well known Frappato grape. Frappato gives the wine a lightness and a touch of spice against the richer tones of the Nero d’Avola. Planeta is one of Sicily’s bigger fine wine concerns. The story of their growth over the last 40 odd years is very much part of the amazing revolution of Italian wine, and the wines of Sicily on particular. One of the reasons we are big fans of Planeta and their wines at GFR is the way the family business has grown. One of their mottos is “For each terroir its own winery” and instead of consolidating into a big wine company, they have evolved into something more like six boutique wineries spread across the island of Sicily. As Zoltan said to me, they have kept their soul.

Can’t see the video? Please click here.

The 2014 Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria is not available at the LCBO, but can be ordered at $26.99 a bottle, in cases of 12, from Noble Estates Wine & Spirits. Another of Planeta’s wines, the 2013 Chardonnay, from their vineyard and winery at Ulmo, is currently available at Vintages at the LCBO (click here for their page on the product). This is the wine that really got Planeta noticed 20 or so years ago and as an icon it is appropriately priced at $44.95 a bottle. While it’s made in a rich full style, it retains line of Sicilian acidity and good clean fruit. The Planeta Chardonnay would make for a very nice way to begin a Valentines dinner at home.

Malcolm Jolley is a founding editor of Good Food Revolution and Executive Director of Good Food Media, the company that publishes it. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.