This Cerasuolo di Vittoria has a beautiful 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. Cerasuolo is best served at 19-20C. A very versatile wine, it goes well with light meat dishes, tuna and baked fish.

Santa Tresa boosts a long connection with Cerasuolo di Vittoria. In the 1950s, then under the ownership of Cavalier di Matteo, Santa Tresa was one of two producers ever to make Cerasuolo di Vittoria and label as such. The grapes in this wine are 60% Nero d’Avola, of which 15% is lightly dried on the vines, using the Appassimento method, and the rest are 40% Frappato.

About the Producer

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 the winemakers acquired Santa Tresa in 2001, they 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 kilometres from Vittoria. At Santa Tresa they cultivate non-indigenous grape varieties rarely found in Sicily, such as Viognier from France, which has found ideal growing conditions here at Santa Tresa.

At Santa Tresa, the winery is a place of production, quality control, but above all, of experimentation. Their winemakers process the grapes in the most gentle way in order to preserve the highest possible quality. The methods used are very diverse, from the most traditional vinification in large Slavonian oak botti to French oak barriques, to the most modern production methods in stainless steel, to vinification without the use of sulphur.

Vineyard and Winery

Santa Tresa’s winemakers handpick each grape variety separately when the grapes are at the peal 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 18-24C. 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 18-20C, 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.