The colour is yellow pale. On the nose this white wine displays a mild aroma with an herbal character of pine, rosemary and sage, accompanied by citrusy undertones. In the mouth refreshing with a nutty aftertaste.
This Terre Siciliane IGT produced by Firriato is the result of blending four white grape varieties typical of Sicily: Inzolia, Carricante, Catarratto and Zibibbo. Each representing 25% of the blend.
Inzolia is a grape variety that traditionally was mainly used as an ingredient in the fortified Marsala wines. It is now more and more used to deliver crispy dry white wines, both as a single variety and in blends.
Carricante is an ancient white wine grape variety from eastern Sicily, thought to have been growing on the volcanic slopes of Mt Etna for at least a thousand years. The variety is known for its marked acidity and the high yields.
Catarratto is also high-yielding, but rather neutral-tasting, with low acidity. Hardly the benchmarks of a top-quality grape. It is mostly used in the production of light, easy-drinking white wines and widely used as a lower-quality blending component. Nowadays Catarratto is also the main ingredient in Marsala wines. A place historically held by Grillo, another Sicilian white grape variety. Despite losing its predominance and Marsala’s fall from fashion, Grillo is still widely planted on Sicily. It is now used in a variety of still white wines, both varietal and blended.
Zibibbo, which means “raisin” in Arabic, is the name given to the Muscat of Alexandria grape in Sicily. An ancient grape variety used both for table grapes and wine production, which is thought to have originated around the Nile Delta, near the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Pantelleria, a satellite island of Sicily, is where this grape is best known, being used in the production of both Moscato di Pantelleria and its dried-grape form: Passito di Pantelleria. Two kind of wines that were granted DOC status in 1971.
Quater Vitis is certainly a wine created with a lot of marketing thoughts behind it. At 17.90 EUR is clearly priced accordingly.
Country: Italy
Region: Sicily
Grapes: Inzolia, Carricante, Catarratto, Zibibbo
Type: White
Vintage: 2017
Producer: Jasci
Price range: Medium (15-30 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 2/5