Will you come to Camporeale Days 2022?
Well yes, but… where is Camporeale? Western Sicily, but toward the center. Near Palermo but also near Trapani.
From a wine perspective, right in the middle of the DOC Alcamo and the DOC Monreale.
Yes, I’ll come. Sicily is in my heart and this part of Sicily is missing from my experience.
A strange territory, made of an immense valley, that of the Belìce, which everyone, however, pronounces Bélice. Made of an alternation of fascinating landscapes and a thousand logistical difficulties. Made of large estates, small realities and great surprises, like the Museo Civico delle Case D’Alia in San Cipirello /San Giuseppe Jato.
Yes, it’s true, we got lost several times, but the crew was a serious one, with Francesca Landolina leading a team capable of responding with laughter to the many road adventures that characterized this tour.
We were talking about Camporeale, a pleasant tour de force through many masterclasses, from macerated wines to Grillo and Syrah, two grape varieties that by now, together with Nero d’Avola and Catarratto, are constants of this territory. But our tour actually began in the evening, thanks to the inevitable delay of our airline, with the wonderful welcome of Francesco Spadafora and his family. A dinner far from the usual clichés, with solutions as simple as they were gourmet, such as pacchero with celery cream paired with a wonderful Grillo 2011. In fact, a young wine.
We spent the second day at the Palazzo del Principe of Camporeale. A masterclass on Grillo led by Aldo Fiordelli and one on Syrah led by Andrea Gori, then ending the day with a wonderful fish dinner at “La Tonnara” in Castellammare del Golfo. A superb dinner in preparation for a very demanding third day, which began with a visit to the cellar of the Principi di Spadafora, then continued with a tasting of local delicacies at the artisanal butcher shop Bilello (mortadella with wild fennel to be placed in the “doping” category), followed by lunch at the Enoteca del Baglio di Camporeale with a presentation by Benedetto Alessandro, and an afternoon of relaxation (so to speak) between the Museum of San Cipirello, the Todaro Winery and the Apud Iatum pizzeria in San Cipirello (PA).
Beautiful, exhausting, difficult to describe.
And then Wednesday, starting with the enthusiasm of Giuseppe Vaccaro of Case Alte, then “converging” toward the wonderful hospitality of Costanza Chirivino of Sallier de La Tour, and finally closing with a visit to Feudo Disisa.
Yes, I realize I’ve made a quick list of all the stops, but for each of these stops you will find a video in the coming days.
What I take home from this tour is certainly the desire of this territory to make itself known. A complex territory, certainly difficult (especially in terms of road connections), but capable of offering surprises both in terms of wine and hospitality.
And then Grillo itself, capable of surprising. Wines with 11 years behind them still more than lively, perfect for many pairings.
Goodbye Sicily. I have discovered another piece of you. A “portion” of Sicily that is not immediate, to be savored little by little.
But Sicily remains something I always carry in my heart.
