TheRareWineCompany-HistoricSeriesMadeiraBostonBualSpecialReserve-March242017

By Karen MacNeil
August 15, 2017

Which of the following is a key red grape variety grown in Sicily?

A. Lambrusco di Sorbara

B. Nero d’Avola

C. Negrara

D. Canaiolo

Also called Calabrese, nero d’Avola is an important red grape variety grown in Sicily. A high-quality variety that can produce intensely black-colored wines, nero d’Avola often possesses red fruit aromas, like strawberries or sour cherries, with notes of licorice, cocoa, rose, and spices. Often, the vines are grown in the traditional albarello (or “little tree” or “bush”) manner—which is to say, without expensive trellising that would be difficult and expensive to construct in Sicily’s high-elevation mountains.

Chaptalization

The addition of cane or beet sugar to wine must before or during fermentation to increase the total amount of sugar and therefore raise the final alcohol content. Chaptalization is legal and widely practiced in… Continue reading

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