We love Sicily! Spotlighting Mortellito
5/8/26 -
Those of you who read the Italian emails (thank you!) might not be surprised to see Mortellito from Sicily featured today. Dario Serrentino (pictured above) is one of my favorite winemakers for vibrant, fresh, and fun bottlings. I had the privilege of tasting through the full lineup with Dario recently, as well as bumping into him at VinItaly in April. Nothing compares to tasting wine with the person who made it and gaining an even deeper appreciation for their work. Previously we had two wines, Cala Iancu Bianco and Niuru Rosso, but today we are expanding the lineup to six wines!
Because we love Sicilian Wines, there are some additions and re-stocks to today's collection. Click 'View the Wines' to jump to the collection featuring Mortellito, Pianogrillo, Lamoresca, and Feudo Montoni or continue reading for more details.
>>>VIEW THE WINES<<<
Mortellito
Dario Serrentino of Mortellito in the Val di Noto is a farmer first, having worked with almond and olive crops before venturing into wine. He started the 'Mortellito' label in 2014 after initially selling his grapes to growers like Frank Cornelissen and Lamoresca. Dario calls his zone ‘a desert next to the beach’ where rocky white limestone and karst soils coax vitality out of Grillo, Cataratto, Frappato, Nero D’Avola, and Moscato. Dario focuses on the ripening of his grapes to avoid intervention in the cellar, which is totally minimal apart from some sulfur at bottling. What he achieves are pure, varietally correct wines with energy and life! I want to highlight 2023 Ponente Bianco, Dario's top white of 100% Grillo from his purest limestone soils.
Click here to read my longer write up on Mortellito from last Summer.
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Feudo Montoni
I was just in Italy and had the privilege to meet and taste with Melissa Muller from Feudo Montoni in Sicily. Feudo Montoni is located between Mount Cammarata and the Madonie mountains, and they are one of Sicily's oldest continuous wineries. The wines were lovely, and the standout was their 150 year old vine single vineyard Nero D'Avola called 'Vrucara'. Vrucara is named after the 'Vruca' herb that grows near the vines, offering a menthol quality to the wine. Other notes I wrote on the wine were 'sarsaparilla, eucalyptus, and spice'. While this is certainly age-worthy wine, there is a velvety texture that makes these vintages lovely for drinking now. The importer kindly offered me a small amount of three pack verticals of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 vintage. It is my understanding that these are typically reserved for restaurants, so this is a chance to grab the vertical at retail pricing.
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Lamoresca
I wrote about Lamoresca a few months ago, linked here. This is a re-stock of their 2024 Rosato and 2024 Nerocapitano (Frappato). These two wines almost tingle with energy and freshness. I have been drinking them for years, and will continue to do so! Perfect for your Spring park hangs and barbeques.
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Pianogrillo
Jamie Wolff, one of the founders of Chambers Street and the long time Italian wine buyer, used to stock Pianogrillo. Maybe you'll recognize the labels if you used to shop at the old store at 148 Chambers Street. Today I have Pianogrillo's 2023 Grecanico and 2024 Deracine Nero d'Avola. Grecanico is easy to love with its opulent, tropical fruit like mango and pineapple. Then white flowers and bitter orange sit on a deep chalky, mineral foundation and lemony acidity. Deracine Nero d'Avola really gives Syrah a run for its money- purple fruit, dark cherry, olives, and great minerality from a single vineyard. Try blind tasting your friends on this and see what they say!
-Marisa Licandro
