The return of COS to CSW!!
3/28/2025
I have been delving more into Sicilian wines more these days, it truly feels like an underappreciated high quality wine making region with its plethora of indigenous varietals and unique terroirs. There's been a lot of focus on Mount Etna, with the increased attention on the northern side but today I'd like to take us to the south.
New to my gastronomical experience but I'm sure most of our readers might be familiar is COS. A role model for the region in terms of farming practices and quality, the estate created by friends Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti, and Cirino Strano has been respecting their land conscientiously. Since the foundation of the estate in 1980 the trio has never used a single chemical or pesticide in the vineyards with many of the biodynamic preparations being made in house with the purchased treatments coming from trusted sources. Being a warm and dry region aids them in this regard, with biodynamic producers thriving in places that have a lack of humidity. This came at a period in Sicilian and global wine making were focused on bulk wine of little substance.
Over time we see the effects this has on the land and the industry. Consumers become complacent or even apathetic about what is being introduced to the market. To combat this, estates like COS and many others that we lovingly promote here at Chambers Street Wines, emphasize minimal but thoughtful intervention and spontaneous fermentations to create true wines of time and place at great prices!
And now, the wines! From Vittoria comes the famous Cerasuolo di Vittoria, an appellation whose red blends of Nero d'Avola and Frappato delightfully reign supreme. By law any bottle with the designation must be 50-70 percent Nero d'Avola and the remainder Frappato. The two grapes make such a delicious duo, with Nero d'Avola adding earth, weight and body contrasting Frappato's charm of floral spice and juicy red fruit. Try the blend from COS or try each grape separately in the varietal bottlings! The Cerasuolo is a must and outperforms many wines at twice the price. Frappato is great when you want something with personality with low tannin, perfect for the upcoming warm weather and a great alternative to Beaujolais! Also on this email is the age-worthy single vineyard Cerasuolo from Bastonaca and only non-red wine of this email, the Rami! Read more on each individual wine in the product descriptions.
Giusto Occhipinti
With this kind of forward thinking and philosophy regarding farming, I've always wondered why I haven't seen them on the shelves here at Chambers Street Wines since the wines fit our bill so well; extensive questioning to my coworkers lead to half-hearted answers and shrugs. After a little digging in the archives I discovered we did have them in the past so this email serves as a toast to recover what we have forgotten.
-Ranggy Tapia
