Vino Bianco "Sole e Vento"

50% Zibibbo/50% Grillo. "Sole e Vento" is a tip of the hat to the two different sunny and windy islands from which it originates. This dry white combines Grillo from De Bartoli vines in Samperi (Marsala) and Zibibbo from their vines on the island of Pantelleria. The Grillo vines are about 20 years old and single-Guyot-grown on the limestone-rich sandy loam and flat land typical of the area with a yield of 35 hl/ha; the Zibibbo comes from 30-year-old alberello-trained (aka gobelet- or head-trained) vines on volcanic-soil terraces at an altitude of 350 meters with a yield of 25 hl/ha. All of the fruit is organically farmed, hand-harvested (a little later on Pantelleria compared to Marsala), destemmed, gently pressed and then macerated with skins for approximately 24 hours. After a 48-hour setting at cool temperatures, fermentation takes places in stainless steel vats with natural yeasts only; the Grillo and Zibibbo are co-fermented. The wine then spends 7 months in stainless steel before bottling; total sulfur is a moderate 45 mg/liter. It is classified as a Vino Bianco and was first bottled in 1997.