The dream wine island off the coast of Sicily: heroic viticulture on Pantelleria

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José Rallo (59) has many talents. He is a jazz singer, economist and, together with his brother Antonio, runs the family business Donnafugata, founded in 1983.

Donnafugata has 467 hectares of vineyards spread across 35 separate vineyards. 16 of them are located on the small island of Pantelleria, located between Sicily and Tunisia. Here the Rallo family cultivates 68 hectares of vineyards planted with the Zibibbo variety. The Muskateller version is perfect for the island called “Daughter of the Winds”.

Tremendous devotion to heroic viticulture

Rallo becomes enthusiastic when he mentions Pantelleria. About the diverse nature, climate, mineral-rich volcanic soils and unique vineyard landscape, these compensate for the great efforts the company has made in this regard since 1989.

In Pantelleria, the vineyards extend in small plots from 20 meters above sea level to 400 meters above sea level. Only manual operation is possible here. José Rallo estimates that the additional work is three times that required in other areas of the company. He describes the first days on the island as follows: “First, we created the basis for the wines we wanted to make. We restored the stocks with 100-year-old vines. “We then dedicated ourselves to maintaining a total of 40 kilometers of walls made of volcanic debris that provide support and wind protection to our terraced lands.”

The climate in Pantelleria is extreme. The 450 mm of rainfall per year quickly disappears into the sandy soil and is blown away by the hot Scirocco wind blowing from the Sahara. “The vines receive additional water from dew, which is absorbed by the porous soil and seeps into the vine roots,” explains Rallo.

Ideal area for Zibibbo

The Zibibbo variety can withstand the harsh conditions on the island. Arabs brought the drought and heat resistant grape to the island. It is grown as a low shrub vine (Alberello), whose shoots squat close to the ground to provide protection against evaporation and strong winds. Alberello pantesco is the name of this type of vine growing, which has been part of UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage since 2014.

Iconic dessert wines

Iconic dessert wines are produced from dried Zibibbo grapes. Wind and sun cause the fruits to turn into raisins after harvest. This makes an elixir that smells of dates, mango, bergamot, orange peel and honey, like the 2021 Ben Ryé from Donnafugata, long one of the classics of Italian dessert wines. Dry and semi-dry wines and even sparkling wines made from spiced grapes are part of the repertoire of Pantelleria wines.

Source : Blick