Sicily Part II: Marsala, Vittoria & Noto
Sicily Part II: Marsala, Vittoria & Noto
This is Part II of this week’s Sicilian wine focus. On Wednesday we featured three Mount Etna producers and today I am so excited to feature three more producers, each from a different corner of Sicily: Marco De Bartoli to the West, Arianna Occhipinti to the South, and Mortellito to the East.
Marco De Bartoli
Sometimes we see our favorite wine regions have a boomerang effect: a product made in a meticulous traditional way will rise to popularity, demand grows, lots of new producers pop up searching for ways to increase quantities, and quality falls. Subsequently, the reputation falls as you see more and more caramel coloring, added sugar, non-traditional grapes, and lack of aging. Then the boomerang comes back around when a resurgence of makers yearning for the traditional methods set up shop. Such is the arc of Marsala and the story behind Marco De Bartoli's beginning. Traditional Marsala takes patience, skill, quality practices, specific equipment, and historical knowledge. Seeing his native land’s traditional wine lose its reputation, Marco De Bartoli left behind his career as a racecar driver and rebuilt his mother’s old cellar just outside the city of Marsala. Later on he started another project on the island of Pantelleria, which is closer to Tunisia than mainland Sicily. After Marco’s passing, his children Renato, Sebastiano and Giusippina continue the family legacy.
Today on offer are a variety of Marsala bottlings, Passito di Pantelleria, and electric dry white wines. If you are new to the idea of old school, terroir-driven Marsala, let De Bartoli be your entry. Click ‘View Wines’ below to read more about each product.
Arianna Occhipinti
Arianna Occhipinti is the star of Vittoria, in the Southern end of Sicily. Her wines took the wine world by the storm over a decade ago. Many people had written off Sicily as a bastion of commercial, over-cropped wines, but when they tasted Arianna’s soulful and balanced examples of Nero d’Avola and Frappato, they were forced to take notice and reassess what Sicilian wine can be. Since releasing her first vintage at the age of 24 in 2006, she has been a champion of Sicilian viticulture – through organic practices, cooperative work with other winemakers, and raising the profile of her island’s indigenous grapes. It's hard to track down her wines at times, but today we're happy to offer a modest and exemplary lineup!
We offered these bottles back in July but we were able to get our hands on more and it will be the final drop for the year so stock up for Winter! Limit 3 bottles of each per person and non-discountable
Mortellito
I wrote about Mortellito on July 30, 2025, linked here. I want to make these wines staples at Chambers and continue a pattern of highlighting native grapes from lesser known sub-regions, so this is a re-stock. I will summarize a bit about the estate below, but if you want to read more follow the link!
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. The climate is an arid desert landscape right on the coast or as Dario calls it ‘a desert next to the beach’. The rocky white limestone and karst soils coax vitality and vibrancy out of Grillo, Cataratto, Frappato, Nero D’Avola, and Moscato.
The wines featured today, Cala Iancu Bianco and Cala Niuru Rosso, are bursting with personality: the combination of limestone soils, proximity to both the sea and the desert, and the singular character of native grapes is a magical combination.
-Marisa Licandro
Please allow until Tuesday October 14th for pick-up and delivery.
De Bartoli 2024 Sicilia Grillo Vignaverde
100% Grillo. From organically farmed estate vines in the Samperi contrada of Marsala, picked the earliest of all for De Bartoli's "Vignaverde" or "green vine" wine. The vines are 30 years old, planted on sandy, limestone-rich loam and trained in...
$27.99
De Bartoli 2024 Terre Siciliane Zibibbo Pietranera
100% Zibibbo. De Bartoli was the first to make a dry Zibibbo on the island of Pantelleria, where the hot climate and ancient viticultural history engendered a tradition of sweet, dried-grape-based passito wines. De Bartoli acquired 3 ha. of Zibibbo planted in...
$46.99
De Bartoli 2019 Marsala Superiore Oro Vigna La Miccia 5 Year
100% Grillo. “La Miccia” is the sweetest, shortest-aged version of a De Bartoli marsala wine and the only one not oxidative in style. As for all of their marsalas, it is made exclusively with organic, hand-harvested, estate Grillo—all parts of...
$49.99
De Bartoli 2022 Passito di Pantelleria Bukkuram Sole d'Agosto
100% Zibibbo. From very low, bush-trained, organically farmed vines on De Bartoli's estate in the contrada of Bukkuram on the island of Pantelleria. The vines average around 50 years old and are grow in light, sandy volcanic soils in a...
$95.99
De Bartoli 1988 Marsala Superiore Oro Riserva
100% Grillo. All De Bartoli's marsala wines are pure Grillo, a rarity--as is its being organically farmed, estate-only, hand-harvested fruit. The bunches are gently pressed and the must fermented spontaneously with natural yeasts in wooden vats. The wine is first...
$165.99
De Bartoli 2000 Passito di Pantelleria Bukkuram Padre della Vigna
100% Zibibbo. From very low, bush-trained, organically farmed vines on De Bartoli's estate in the contrada of Bukkuram on the island of Pantelleria. The vines average around 50 years old and are grow in light, sandy volcanic soils in a...
$229.99
De Bartoli 2009 Marsala Superiore Oro Riserva
100% Grillo. All De Bartoli's marsala wines are pure Grillo, a rarity--as is its being organically farmed, estate-only, hand-harvested fruit. The bunches are gently pressed and the must fermented spontaneously with natural yeasts in wooden vats. The wine is first...
$95.99
Occhipinti 2024 SP68 Bianco (Limit 3 Per Customer)
Structurally zippy, with a little tannic kiss, and medium acidity, Ariana's SP68 Bianco is made from Zibibbo and Albanello grapes grown on red sand and limestone soils. The fruit is co-fermented in concrete, with skin maceration for 2 weeks on...
$39.99
Occhipinti 2024 SP68 Rosso (Limit 3 Per Customer)
Occhipinti's SP68, named after the local road that abutts her family's estate, is a blend of Frappato and Nero D'Avola picked from four different vineyard sites. Grapes are picked by hand, typically destemmed and fermented together in concrete. Aging is...
$39.99
Occhipinti 2024 SP68 Rosso 1.5L Magnum
Occhipinti's SP68, named after the local road that abutts her family's estate, is a blend of Frappato and Nero D'Avola picked from four different vineyard sites. Grapes are picked by hand, typically destemmed and fermented together in concrete. Aging is...
$85.99
Occhipinti 2023 Frappato IGT Terre Siciliane (Limit 3 Per Customer)
This is an elegant Frappato that expanded and redefined our entire understanding of what a Frappato from Sicily could acheive when Arianna first started producing it as a sinle varietal wine in 2006. From two different parcels, with vines averaging...
$59.99
Mortellito 2023 Cala Iancu Bianco
Cala Iancu is crafted from organically grown Grillo and Cataratto, classic Sicilian varieties. The vines sit in a distinctly desert climate with close proximity to the coast of the Ionian Sea. White limestone and karst soils impart a salinity and...
$28.99
Mortellito 2023 Cala Niuru Rosso
Cala Niuru is a blend of mostly Frappato with a touch of Nero D'Avola, classic South West Sicilian varieties. The desert climate is on the coast of the Ionian Sea with white limestone and karst soils. The grapes are grown...
$28.99
