The wines of Paolo Calì

Pruvuletta is where I started. My first vineyard, planted in 2001, has its roots in the purest sand of the marine dunes. In this Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico I try not to lose the subtle but firm voice of that sand. It is the wine that reminds me, every time, of how this adventure began. On the label, a hazy landscape and a figure crossing the dune.

At Forfice the sand meets clay. You walk a few steps and the soil changes: to me that detail deserves a wine of its own. Here Frappato and Nero d’Avola grow close together and give a Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico with a different personality from Pruvuletta. The ink marks on the label recall the wind that draws the landscape.

Niscia comes from where the marine sands meet limestone. It is the third face of a land that, seen from afar, might look all the same. I chose to give this plot a Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico able to keep its own identity. On the label a figure looks out over the dunes, as I do every time I go back to the vineyard.

Frappato is the variety I feel closest to. It is deeply tied to Vittoria and has a way all its own of making itself known: aroma before colour, finesse before power. In my Vittoria DOC Frappato I look for red fruit, freshness and a lightness that doesn’t mean simplicity. On the label the grapes turn into an imaginary flower.

People who think of Nero d’Avola often imagine a dense, powerful red. I try to show another side of it too, the one that comes from these sandy soils: structure and depth, but without weighing down each sip. It is my Vittoria DOC Nero d’Avola, a wine that brings Sicily into the glass without looking for special effects. Two drops, blue and purple, go with it on the label.

Blues is my white wine, made from Grillo grapes. The name comes from a simple association: in summer in Sicily, the song of the crickets (“grilli” in Italian) sounds like never-ending music. I liked the idea of a wine with the same spontaneity, with the sun of our land and a freshness to go with it. The blue wave on the label is a reminder of the sea that, a very long time ago, left its sand here.

Osa! was born in 2008, when I decided to vinify Frappato directly as a rosé, without bleeding juice off a red (the saignée method). The result is a wine I love for its quiet liveliness: delicate, fresh, just slightly pétillant. It is one of those wines that don’t need a special occasion. I picture it at the table with a fish dish, or on a summer evening, when a good glass is all it takes to feel on holiday.

Mood is my most playful take on Frappato. It is a sparkling rosé from Frappato grapes, made with the ancestral method: the fermentation, started without selected yeasts, finishes in the bottle. The wine is not disgorged. The bubbles are part of its character, not a disguise. To me Mood tastes of simple things done with care: a moment to share, without too much ceremony.