Sicily, you’re breaking my heart
White wine that tastes like smoke!
Actually, you’re breaking my palate lately…so, please, excuse what I’m about to say in this next wine tasting…
… it’s all true, and it’s shockingly ridiculous:
Di Giovanna Grecanico 2006, Sicily… $15… Freshly fired buckshot and dragon fruit preserves on the nose, burnt grapefruits and rotten green apples on the palate, and the sandy suction cups of uncooked octopus tentacles covered in fresh lemon juice on the finish.
I’m usually a reductionist when it comes to white wine… usually to me there’s only crisp or buttery, but Di Giovanna’s Grecanico has an entirely different feeling altogether- instead of tasting like any particular fruit, it tastes like it’s enveloping your mouth with smoke made from that fruit- almost like drinking incense sticks. So wonderfully odd!
I will research this more, but my assumption is that this wine tastes like this because it was grown on some really volcanic soil (it’s not unheard of for Mt. Etna to have a strong influence on Sicilian wine aromas). I’m excited for people to try this.