Journey through the history of the Sicilian wine family

by Marco Muggiano

It is a story that spans almost two centuries and takes place in five enchanting places in Sicily. It is the story of the Tasca d'Almerita family, founded in 1830 by the brothers Don Lucio and Don Carmelo Mastrogiovanni Tasca.
Everything is born in an area far from the main roads, Tenuta Regaleali. A 500-hectare estate located in a fertile mountain valley between Palermo and Caltanisetta, 400 to 900 meters above sea level. A place that, frankly, is not very Sicilian. The daytime temperature range is as wide as in the north, but the light has all the intensity of the Mediterranean.
Already recognized as a model farm in the Sicilian Agricultural Yearbook of 1854, through eight generations, the company has never stopped experimenting, deepening, and evolving. The production of Sicilian wine in the post-war period was mainly linked to the production of bulk wine, often sold as a cut wine to be blended with wines in northern Italy or southern France. In those same years, at Tenuta Regaleali, Count Giuseppe Tasca d'Almerita had the intuition to produce and bottle wine. In 1959, he also planted the native vines of Perricone and Nero d'Avola, investing in a future that few Sicilians could have imagined. The Riserva del Conte wine came into existence in 1970, and later, it became known as "Rosso del Conte" among everyone. His son Lucio continued the search for excellence, planting the first international varieties in Sicily and modernizing the winery.
Today, Lucio's son, Alberto Tasca, born in 1971, carries on the family project with the same enthusiasm for innovation and research. Since 2009, he has founded and participated in the "SOStain" program, which became the SOStain Sicily Foundation in 2020 to promote a more virtuous system of viticulture in Sicily while stimulating research and high-level training in sustainability. The attention to sustainability has been internationally recognized with the "European Winery of the Year 2019" award from the American magazine Wine Enthusiast and the prestigious "Green Emblem" from Robert Parker Wine Advocate. Tasca d'Almerita, under Alberto's leadership, has just achieved B Corp certification, becoming part of an international network of companies committed to the highest social and environmental performance standards.
Finally, at the turn of the millennium, together with his elder brother Giuseppe, Alberto began to expand the entrepreneurial and geographical scope, giving rise to a series of estates where the wines can be tasted in combination with the raw materials of the land and, in some, where one can stay.

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Tenuta Regaleali
An exploration of taste primarily centered around vineyards, though not exclusively. Here, extra virgin olive oil with an intense flavor is produced, resulting from centuries of olive cultivation. It is also the historical crossroads of two great culinary traditions: on the one hand, the most authentic peasant cuisine and, on the other, the most elaborate but equally inspired cuisine of the monsù, the French chefs at the service of the Sicilian and Neapolitan aristocracy since the 1700s.
But the strength of the place is still linked to the wines. The unique climatic conditions of Tenuta Regaleali, including its high altitude and diverse range of soils with distinct microclimates, soil compositions, and sun exposure, enable many grape varieties to express themselves fully, even those typically unsuited for the warm Sicilian climate. The white wines offer a broad aromatic spectrum and an unusual freshness and brightness in the island's production. On the other hand, red wines are full-bodied and fruity, supported by a robust acidity and tannic backbone that makes them as long-lived as few other island wines. Tenuta Regaleali currently produces 19 different wines.

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Tenuta Tascante
On the east coast of Sicily, on the highest volcano in Europe, between Castiglione di Sicilia and Randazzo. The vineyards are distributed along 200 dry walls, over 100 terraces, 7 hectares of chestnut trees, and 355 olive trees, intertwined in the districts of Pianodario, Sciaranuova, Rampante, and Grasà. Today, in the Passopisciaro winery, the districts are collected and vinified separately to emphasize the distinct personalities of the Etna terroirs. The exceptional wine of the estate, produced in very few bottles, is the Contrada Sciaranuova V.V., made from a small vineyard in 1961.

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Tenuta Capofaro
In Salina, the greenest of the Aeolian archipelago, in the Malfa area, on the peninsula of the same name overlooking the sea. With the charm of its flashing light, the lighthouse of Capofaro, dating from the mid-nineteenth century, is the sentry that watches over the sea. In the evocative rooms originally occupied by the guardian, six exclusive rooms have been created, in addition to the other rooms of the hotel owned by the family: Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia. A member of the Relais & Châteaux association, it has a structure in typical Aeolian architecture, surrounded by 4.5 hectares of vineyards overlooking the sea. From the terraces of the rooms, shaded by "cannizzi," you can see Stromboli and Panarea's profiles. Tasca d'Almerita produces one of the best expressions of the typical wine of the archipelago, the Malvasia delle Lipari. The restaurant, run by the talented Sicilian chef Gabriele Camiolo, creates a sustainable and self-sufficient agri-food system. The gardens alone provide 70% of the vegetables used in the kitchen.
The Capofaro estate produces a sweet Malvasia and two dry Malvasias. The World of Fine Wine has awarded the Wine Bar proposal as The Most Original Wine List in the World 2022.

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Tenuta Whitaker
It is located on the small museum island of Mozia, immersed in the Stagnone di Marsala, now owned by the Whitaker Foundation. Twelve hectares of vineyard, in a place without electricity or fresh water for irrigation, in the middle of a salty pond among the windiest of the Mediterranean. To reach the island, you have to cross the salt pans of Trapani. The windmills are very suggestive. Today, Mozia is one of the best-preserved Phoenician archaeological sites in the world. The vineyards are, therefore, surrounded by archaeological excavations and the brackish pond where they were fished with cast nets in ancient times. In 2007, the Whitaker Foundation entrusted Tasca d'Almerita to create a project to promote and recover the historic vineyards of Grillo di Mozia, with the ambitious idea of reviving the "Phoenician Wine."

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Tenuta Sallier de la Tour
It is located in Upper Belize, a few kilometers from Palermo, in the wine area of the Monreale Doc. The most fascinating thing about this area is the landscape and the cultural context: the archaeological park of Monte Jato preserves important structures dating back to the settlements of Magna Graecia; the nearby city of Monreale is one of the most evocative on the island, famous for its magnificent medieval cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The estate has belonged to the Sallier de La Tour family, princes of Camporeale, since the middle of the 19th century. Built in 1909, La Monaca takes its name from the hill behind the estate. The creation of the three hilly lakes that still exist on the estate and the planting of the new vineyards date back to the 1940s. The first bottle, labeled Sallier de La Tour, arrived in the 2000s. Here, Syrah has found the ideal pedoclimatic conditions to structure the wines.

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CONTRADA PIANODARIO
On Etna, each district has specific characteristics: altitude, soil composition, exposure, type, and morphology of the lava tongues. But what most distinguishes the districts are the geological-temporal characteristics of the soils. From the most recent lava flows of 1646, 1879, and 1911 and the last one near Randazzo in 1981, we move on to older formations, most of which date from 122 B.C. to 15,000 years ago.
Contrada Pianodario has an average altitude of 775 meters above sea level and is characterized by dry terraces. The soil is characterized by formations of volcanic origin between 15,000 and 4,000 years old. This wine is crafted from 100% Nerello Mascalese grapes, which are carefully hand-harvested. Fermentation takes place in steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 25-30 C. Aging takes place in 25 hl Slavonic oak barrels for 12 months.

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MOZIA
The island of Mozia, small but incredibly rich in history, has a microclimate that allows the Grillo grape to express all its vitality. The soil of the island of Mozia comes from the seabed of marine origin; the island has no electricity or running water, so it is impossible to irrigate. The harvest is always slightly anticipated to preserve a particular point of acidity helpful in maintaining freshness and longevity. The Mozia grapes are 100% Grillo, hand-picked, and transported to the mainland in the typical flat-bottomed boats. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at a temperature of 16/18 C. Maturation occurs in steel tanks in contact with the yeasts for five months.