AGR. VITIVINICOLA D. VELLA
Italia
Corso P.S. Mattarella 19
91020 Poggioreale (TP), Italia
Tel: +39 0924 75668 Fax: +39 924 76668
Vino
www.biovinivasari.it
Vino, Aceite de Oliva, Miel, Pastas, Spirits
COMPANY INFO...
Producing a fine wine is an art and , like all true art , it requires Experience , Ability and Passion .
For 1000 years , the Vasari family has cultivated vines on the hills dominating the valley of the river Mela in Santa Lucia del Mela and Meri' .
Our knowledge and innovative techniques have been handed down from generation to generation .
This has resulted in an exclusive wine whose authentic flavour is as much the result of a deep respect for the environment as a treasured tradition for producing the highest quality wines .
In 1990 , Ruggero Vasari introduced organic cultivation into the vineyards and the lemon and olive groves . Vines were planted on the most fertile soils of the estate facing north-west and west at an altitude of 250/300 metres .
The planting density is 3800/4000 vines per hectare .
Due to the heavy pruning , the yield per hectare does not exceed 40/60 hectolitres of wine for both white and red wines . This low productivity per hectare ensures a wine of great quality .
The wines are made exclusively from the finest indigenous Sicilian grapes : the white wines are made with Cataratto , Inzolia and Grillo grapes ; and the red wines are made with Nero d'Avola and Nocera grapes.
At the heart of the hills overlooking the valley of the river Mela, in the commune of Santa Lucia del Mela and Meri', the Vasari family has cultivated a substantial area of vineyards since the year 1700 .
We produce fine wines and each generation has applied innovative cultural and technical expertise to the traditional legacy which we have inherited for producing high quality wines.
Each and every bottle encapsulates the love which we feel for the earth , and our commitment to producing a natural , distinctive and quality product .
In 1990 , Ruggero Vasari introduced and subsequently developed organic farming methods to the cultivation of land on the estate .
The Azienda Agricola Vasari was one of the first in Sicily to adopt the demanding requirements of the European Community for Organic Farming and absolute respect for the environment .
All our wines , extra virgin olive oil and other products are registered with the Organic Farming Certificate guaranteeing that our products are produced withouth the use of chemicals , hercides , additives or any other synthetic chemical products .
All our products are free from animal substances whether natural or synthetic and therefore suitable for vegetarians .
Mamertino Red Nero d'Avola DOC
A selection of the best organic grapes of Nero d'Avola variety , bearing fruit and full-bodied.
Aged for six months in oak barrels.
Mamertino Nero d'Avola DOC
Gift Box
Mamertino Cru Timpanara
Produced from hand-harvested grapes of a single variety Nero d'Avola grown in the vineyard Timpanara and aged in oak. A full bodied ruby red wine with an intense nose displaying ripe fruitness ,harmonious and balanced with a full velvety palate.
Vintage 2004.
Mamertino Rosso Doc 2006 Jéroboam
Bottle 3 Liters
Elegant giftbox. Limited edition of 100 bottles. Each bottle is exclusive , numbered and signed by Ruggero Vasari
Mamertino Rosso Riserva 2006
Un rosso Mamertino invecchiato due anni in botti di rovere.
Mostra nerbo e corposità ,un bouquet netto con sapori da scoprire dopo averlo scaraffato.
Mamertino Red DOC
Deep red colour , bearing fruit with a distinctive character , full-bodied , big and persisting on the palate .
Aged for six months in small American oak barrels .
Grape varieties : Nero d'Avola and Nocera.
Mamertino White DOC
A real jewel , yellow in colour , pale yellow with green overtones .
Dry , fragrant with hints of fruit .
Grape varieties : Cataratto , Inzolia and Grillo
Zahir
Rosè wine from Nero d’Avola grapes with fruit and flower flavouring, harmoniuos and balanced, versatile. Perfect as an aperitif and with Italian cuisine.
Mistral Red IGT
Purple red , vinous and harmonious .
Suitable for everyday drinking with a meal .
Grape variety : Nero d'Avola
Mistral White IGT
This brightly coloured , dry , harmonious white wine goes well
with any food , in particular shell fish and crustacea .
Grape varieties : Cataratto ,Inzolia and Grillo
Nero d'Avola IGT
Grapes of Nero d'Avola harvested end September in a small vineyard of Timpanara terroir . Fresch and fruity to be drunk still young.
Cabernet Sauvignon IGT
From Cabernet Sauvignon variety grapes grown in San Giuseppe vineyard , this wine adds a taste of Mediterranean bouquet to its natural aroma of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
Marea Red IGT
A blend of Nero d'Avola, Nocera and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Aged in stainless steel shows a superb bouquet with mediterranean aroma
Marea White IGT
A full wine , fine ,smooth , yellow with gold highlights .
Grape varieties : Cataratto and Inzolia
Casanova Rosso Sicilia IGT 2007
Un Casanova allegro e brioso questo rosso ottenuto da Uve Nocera e Cabernet Sauvignon.
Confezioni : cartoni da 12 e 6 bottiglie da 750ml
Casanova Bianco Sicilia IGT 2007
Da uve Cataratto e Inzolia dei vigneti San Giuseppe e Santa Maria nasce il Casanova Bianco dai profumi delicati e solari.
Confezioni : cartoni da 12 e 6 bottiglie da 750ml
Our cellar is equipped with the latest facilities and is located in the old farmhouse , a vaulted building , the oldest half dating back to 1700 ,where our wines mature and are refined .
The modern facilities extend to an area of 800m2 with storage capacity for another 1000 hl of wine of which 800 hl are in stainless steel tanks and 200 hl in small oak casks .
The great Sicilian wines have something very special about them and in this cellar a truly exceptional wine ,Mamertino Vasari,has been created .
Today it is possible to taste this vintage wine which is the outcome of the pulsating creativity , imagination and passion of Ruggero Vasari .Tasting the Mamertino will make you realise why this wine was considered " un vino per gli Dèi " , a wine for Gods .
Today , Mamertino is no longer reserved just for their table !
The character of the wine depends fundamentally on the grape variety used in making that wine.
The Local Wine Making Tradition is forged by three elements: The Human Touch;Environmental Conditions;and The Terrain. These are what determine the choice of grape variety or varieties in specific areas and even more particularly for different parts of the same area.
In the communes of Santa Lucia del Mela and Meri where the Azienda Agricola Vasari vineyards are situated,the Nero d'Avola and Sangiovese,Nocera and Nerello Mascalese varieties are cultivated to make red wines.Cataratto Comune,Cataratto Lucido,Inzolia and Grillo are grown to make white wine.Vasari grows the Nero d'Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon and Nocera only for red wine;and Cataratto Comune and Lucido,Inzolia and Grillo for white wines
Cataratto
Cataratto is the most widespread grape variety grown in Sicily:This native grape matures early at the beginning of September producing a balanced and fragrant wine with heaps of character reflecting the growing conditions and local terrain.These grapes are used for the Mamertino Bianco and the Mamertino Bianco Riserva DOC
The art of Tasting
There are various types of wine: still, sparkling, champagne-type, all of which differ in body, fragrance and balance; all wines should have a concentration and strength to enable you to enjoy them.
Every wine reveals a complexity and intensity of flavour of its own. White wines can be identified by their pale fruit colour, the hint of acidity, and a flavour such as melon,peach, or nuts such as almonds.
In a red wine it is fruits like cherry or plum or a hint of spices which give the flavour. It is not easy to anlyse and describe a wine.
There is a wide range of perfumes coming from a wine which may exceed 400.
What are you to do? Let's leave it to the experts to produce the detailed descriptions. For wine consumer and amateurs, let's agree that the wine should be pleasing and we should be able to drink it and, if we wish, we can use just a few words to describe its colour, fragrance, flavour, body, and aftertaste.
Colour: fill a glass one-third full and hold it by the stem against a white background to observe the colour. Tip the glass to better observe the depth of colour. The Mamertino Millennium is ruby red in colour whilst the Mamertino Bianco is straw yellow.
That's the first step. Now rotate the glass and swirl the wine all round the inside of the glass to liberate all the aromas of the wine. Thus it is exposed to the air which vapourises the wine so that the various fragrances diffuse and confront our olfactory senses.
Fragrance is the most important part of a wine. We have noted the colour, we have sniffed the wine and now we'll sip it and appreciate all its complexity. Make sure that you just sip it, don't swallow it, and then you will experience the after-taste.
What is the language of wine?
Wine has its own language. I am not about to bore you by listing all the terms which are used to describe a wine. I'll just give you some of the terms which are,let us say, fundamental:
- Acidity: the level of acid in the wine can make it vivacious or silky.
- Alcohol: with more or less alcohol content.
- Aroma: the fragrance of the wine which usually closely matches that of the fruit.Whena wine is aged the bouquet is an expression of the aromas acquired during the process of ageing
- Body: the perception of the weight of the wine in the mounth, applies to red wines.
- Denominazione: the provenance, a well-defined area
- Fruit: a wine which has a 'nose'reminiscent of fruit. The Mamertino Red 2001 has the mature cherry nose characteristic of the Nero d'Avola grape.
- Finish: the final impression of the wine which is feft on the palate.
- Structure:the structure or balance of the wine taking into account total acidity and tannin
- Tannin: gives balance to the structure and allows red wines to age.
- Grape variety: the specific grape variety used to produce a wine, for example Nero d'Avola, the variety used to produce the Mamertino Red.
What can we say about agritourism/agri-tourism today?
There is something genuine and true about a simple vegetable soup made in the kitchen with beans and cabbage and cooked in rainwater.
The factory product containing preservatives, adorned with a battery of fine words and the re-heated bears no comparison!
The impoverished, ignorant 40-year-old countess and drunken waiter have ruined modern agrotourism by exploiting convenience products.
This version of agrotourism is Paradise Lost ! But there is also the agrotourism of Ruggero Vasari...
He offers you his own wines, produced with passion from selected grapes matured in oak barrels. He serves you salami and cheese typical of Santa Lucia del Mela together with his own olives in brine.
You can enjoy these in a rural setting surrounded by sounds of the countryside.
A good wine glass helps you live to a ripe old age. And if the wine is produced from grapes grown by organic methods, it contributes greatly to an improvement in our health.
Wine is a precious element in nutrition and enhances our life style. Can you imagine a worker's breakfast or dinner without wine? Impossible! The judicious selection marriage of wine and food for each course is a sign of distinction.
What should we look for in a wine?
Good quality goes without saying. But also search for the elusive emotional response. Whenever you buy and drink a bottle of Mamertino Vasari, you can be sure it will strike inside you, produce an emotion, a sensation, a sense of style.
Live the dream! Leave your safe, cosy, everyday existence.
Wine has always been an essential component of art. Since the days of antiquity ,there has been no aesthetic movement which is failed to include wine.
It is manifest in sculpture, painting and literature.
Not since the beginning of the 20th century, when the artistic revolution of Futurism took an interest in all forms of human Expression triggering a U-turn, have we saved anything concerning cookery, our way of cooking, of presenting dishes, of eating and of drinking.
Of wine ,the Futurists said that, 'if wine is a drink of ancient tradition, it is nevertheless a drink which renews itself on an annual basis, a dynamic drink which contains man's fuel and his life blood.
It's great! It's of the moment. The Futurists and futuristic thought felt the need to promote Italian wine.Every initiative to enhance the value of wine is welcome. Let's hope so! But the futurists want to open, 'the gates to avant garde artists to promote wine with stylish criteria, allied to Futurism by applying the latest advertising techniques''.
What can we say? Perhaps those bodies devoted to promote Italian wines should read the futuristic texts.
Neither has the interior design of the places where wine is consumed been neglected by the futurists.A feature in the Italian Wine Journal " Giornale Vinicolo Italiano " commented on the topic of interior design: There are many people in this world who love classical architecture and who like to drink the latest wine-produced in ultra-modern wine making facilities! -housed in mediaeval buildings or in strange, cavernous, stunning cellars reverberating to the sound of jazz bands.
These people do not think it at all necessary today for the grapes to be pressed with one's feet. Or, if they do think so, they do not assign much importance to it.
Probably they do not want to remeber that highly ornate wooden vats-alas! - are decreasing in number in modern cellars which are now largely adorned with batteries of stainless steel vats on several levels.
Even the poor casks have submitted to the unstoppable march of technology! After having clung to barrels for as long as possible, there has now been an explosion in the construction of the super-tanks of 800 hectoliteres.
Again: '' it seems that today wine can search for and findwhat is best in modern genius and take advantage of significant advances in archtecture, design, pavilions, restaurants, presentations and publicity ''.
The new futuristic cooking
Philosopher Benedetto Croce defines the Futurism as, ''magic in action''. The futuristic mouvement has not spared cooking. You can amuse yourself with F.T.Marinetti and Son's
'' La cucina futurista ''- published in 1932.
We should be most grateful if you succeed in finding a copy- '' the modern culinary revolution has the highest aims, noble as well as practical for everyone to radically change how we eat,fortify ourselves bodily and spiritually with the latest life style in which experience, intelligence and fantasy effectively replace quantity, ordinariness, repetion and cost''.
The New Futuristic Cooking is not like the motor of a high-speed hydrofoil-heady, fast and dangerous.Instead it makes you want to create a harmony-on the palate and in your life-today and tomorrow.
Forget decadent and legendary excesses-men have been nourished up till now like ants,mice,cats,and oxen. The first human cooking was born with the Futurists, born out of the art of providing for ouselves.
Like all art, this excluded plagiarism and insists on creative originality.
The third millennium is a time for optimism at the table after the winds of war which brought such depressing panic!
And now, I give you some strange futuristic cooking recipes for which it is interesting to note that the Futurists have recipes for singles, for lovers, for divorced people and for philosophers!
Sicilian Headland
Chop together some tuna fish,apples,olives and peanuts and spread over a cold egg and marmalade omelette.Don't forget to serve a Mamertino Bianco with it
Erodiade's Rice
Heat together in a pan over a high flame the best virgin and honour the glorious name of Mallarmé,as the virgin sang.In a green,swampy landscape sprinkled with sensuous deep blue irise,take some rice and boil in some salted milk.Sprinkle with pepper and finish with powdered iris rhizome.Serve with a Mamertino Rosso 2001,naturally produced by Ruggero Vasari.
And to end today, here are instructions for preparing " Uova divorziate " , Divorced Eggs
hard-boil two eggs.Separate the yolks from the whites.Set the yolks over a mixture of potatoes and the whites over a mixture of carrots,adding extravirgin Vasari olive oil,salt and pepper.Don't forget to serve with Mamertino Millennium 2000.
One of the vineyards from which the exceptional product of the Organic Farming VASARI comes.
The happy geographic position of hills, on which the vineyards extend, contribute to guarantee the authentic character of the wine in the respect of the atmosphere and the tradition.
Organic Farming
Nature creates and re-invents itself -as Horace's poem goes.
Today 2000 years later, I believe that nature will be not compromised again.
In the name of economic development,the bulldozer destroyed the land and the hills. They ripped open mountain, raped it of its treasures and emasculated the landscape.
Nature cannot re-invent itself! In agriculture, they have propagated veinous practises. Radioactive waste is the ultimate expression of the ills and wastefulness of the consumer society. As someone once said: Enough! I want to eat but I want this to be achieved through sustainable development.
And so organic farming became the point of departure. It recognises that the land can no longer support thousands of tons of chemical fertlisers. Our water cannot absorb excessive quantities of nitrates. We don't want to use synthetic chemicals which have wiped out the birds and the flowers! This is organic farming-a clean form of agriculture which creates foods which are not contaminated with poisons.
To think that even Lucrèzio was right! This force for optimism has taken root again after 2000 years as Ruggero Vasari predicted in his play ''RAUN'' where the Child acted out the part of Nature who, violated and over-powered, by the will of man, still managed to hold fast to his spirit and to bounce back.
With the same violence, the same rapacity and inexorability, Nature snatches back control of its true direction.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The method of farming organically is controlled by European Union regulations with which all Member States must comply.
In Italy, organic farming is controlled by organisations authorised by the Ministry of Agriculture
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L'Azienda Agricola Vasari has been registered as an organic farm since 1991 and is controlled by Suolo e Salute - the Land & Health Commission a control body authorised by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture.
All products from the estate-wine, oil, citrus fruit and all the other products-only receive the organic farming certificate after detailed analysis confirming that they do not contain any synthetic chemicals, pesticides, hormonoes, nitrates etc etc etc.
Moreover, no animal products, whether natural or synthetic, are used either in the cultivation of the land or in the production processes and therefore our wines, oil and other products are suitable for vegetarians
----------------
Wine and Travels
A Sicilian journey into wine and art,between the deep blue of the sea and the green of the vines, the olives and citrus groves, will infuse you with a breath air and history.
If you can insert fine wine and food into your itinerary you will have a wonderful memories of Sicilia specialities.
We should like to guide you along the Mamertino Wine Route- the Strada del Vino Mamertino.
From Milazzo to Santa Lucia del Mela you will enjoy enchanting landscapes, dine in restaurants where you will be offered typical local specialities and visit the cellars and vineyards of Ruggero Vasari in Santa Lucia del Mela.
Ruggero will take you through a tasting of his red and white wines.
------------------------------------
The Azienda Agricola Vasari also sells renowned Extra Virgin
Olive Oil, Citrus Fruits, Spirits, Coffee, Honey, Grape Sugar and
Pasta .
All these products bear the Organic Farming Certificate .
Mamertino - Extra Virgin olive oil
pure organic extra virgin olive oil obtained from a careful selection of Biancolilla olives
collected by hand and cold pressed.
Fruity with a typical Mediterranean taste
Mamertino-Extra Virgin Olive oil with Lemon flavour
Olive Oil flavoured with lemon.
Lemon oil retains all the characteristics of Vasari's Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
This oil is flavoured with essential oil of lemon produced by organic farming methods.
Perfect as a salade dressing, with vegetables, fish and white meat.
-------------------------------------
Mamertino's GRAPPA
A young grappa obtained from the distillation of Mamertino Rosso grapes following pressing
Caffè Jolly Espresso
A delicious blend of Santos Arabica and strong Togo coffee.
The coffee is produced on Ruggero Vasari's estates in Latin America and Africa
and exported directly to Sicily where it is roasted
Lemon Honey
Honey produced by organic farming methods.
Flavoured with organic blossom and noted for its homogenous texture which makes
this product a time-honoured health food and sought-after sweetener.
Grape Sugar
Retaining the original flavour of the grapes from which is made, the ultimate sweetener,
also suitable for those who are allergic to saccharine. For soft drinks, to put in coffee, tea,
yoghurt and fro making cakes and ice creams .
COMPANY INFO...
Producing a fine wine is an art and , like all true art , it requires Experience , Ability and Passion .
For 1000 years , the Vasari family has cultivated vines on the hills dominating the valley of the river Mela in Santa Lucia del Mela and Meri' .
Our knowledge and innovative techniques have been handed down from generation to generation .
This has resulted in an exclusive wine whose authentic flavour is as much the result of a deep respect for the environment as a treasured tradition for producing the highest quality wines .
In 1990 , Ruggero Vasari introduced organic cultivation into the vineyards and the lemon and olive groves . Vines were planted on the most fertile soils of the estate facing north-west and west at an altitude of 250/300 metres .
The planting density is 3800/4000 vines per hectare .
Due to the heavy pruning , the yield per hectare does not exceed 40/60 hectolitres of wine for both white and red wines . This low productivity per hectare ensures a wine of great quality .
The wines are made exclusively from the finest indigenous Sicilian grapes : the white wines are made with Cataratto , Inzolia and Grillo grapes ; and the red wines are made with Nero d'Avola and Nocera grapes.
At the heart of the hills overlooking the valley of the river Mela, in the commune of Santa Lucia del Mela and Meri', the Vasari family has cultivated a substantial area of vineyards since the year 1700 .
We produce fine wines and each generation has applied innovative cultural and technical expertise to the traditional legacy which we have inherited for producing high quality wines.
Each and every bottle encapsulates the love which we feel for the earth , and our commitment to producing a natural , distinctive and quality product .
In 1990 , Ruggero Vasari introduced and subsequently developed organic farming methods to the cultivation of land on the estate .
The Azienda Agricola Vasari was one of the first in Sicily to adopt the demanding requirements of the European Community for Organic Farming and absolute respect for the environment .
All our wines , extra virgin olive oil and other products are registered with the Organic Farming Certificate guaranteeing that our products are produced withouth the use of chemicals , hercides , additives or any other synthetic chemical products .
All our products are free from animal substances whether natural or synthetic and therefore suitable for vegetarians .
Mamertino Red Nero d'Avola DOC
A selection of the best organic grapes of Nero d'Avola variety , bearing fruit and full-bodied.
Aged for six months in oak barrels.
Mamertino Nero d'Avola DOC
Gift Box
Mamertino Cru Timpanara
Produced from hand-harvested grapes of a single variety Nero d'Avola grown in the vineyard Timpanara and aged in oak. A full bodied ruby red wine with an intense nose displaying ripe fruitness ,harmonious and balanced with a full velvety palate.
Vintage 2004.
Mamertino Rosso Doc 2006 Jéroboam
Bottle 3 Liters
Elegant giftbox. Limited edition of 100 bottles. Each bottle is exclusive , numbered and signed by Ruggero Vasari
Mamertino Rosso Riserva 2006
Un rosso Mamertino invecchiato due anni in botti di rovere.
Mostra nerbo e corposità ,un bouquet netto con sapori da scoprire dopo averlo scaraffato.
Mamertino Red DOC
Deep red colour , bearing fruit with a distinctive character , full-bodied , big and persisting on the palate .
Aged for six months in small American oak barrels .
Grape varieties : Nero d'Avola and Nocera.
Mamertino White DOC
A real jewel , yellow in colour , pale yellow with green overtones .
Dry , fragrant with hints of fruit .
Grape varieties : Cataratto , Inzolia and Grillo
Zahir
Rosè wine from Nero d’Avola grapes with fruit and flower flavouring, harmoniuos and balanced, versatile. Perfect as an aperitif and with Italian cuisine.
Mistral Red IGT
Purple red , vinous and harmonious .
Suitable for everyday drinking with a meal .
Grape variety : Nero d'Avola
Mistral White IGT
This brightly coloured , dry , harmonious white wine goes well
with any food , in particular shell fish and crustacea .
Grape varieties : Cataratto ,Inzolia and Grillo
Nero d'Avola IGT
Grapes of Nero d'Avola harvested end September in a small vineyard of Timpanara terroir . Fresch and fruity to be drunk still young.
Cabernet Sauvignon IGT
From Cabernet Sauvignon variety grapes grown in San Giuseppe vineyard , this wine adds a taste of Mediterranean bouquet to its natural aroma of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
Marea Red IGT
A blend of Nero d'Avola, Nocera and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Aged in stainless steel shows a superb bouquet with mediterranean aroma
Marea White IGT
A full wine , fine ,smooth , yellow with gold highlights .
Grape varieties : Cataratto and Inzolia
Casanova Rosso Sicilia IGT 2007
Un Casanova allegro e brioso questo rosso ottenuto da Uve Nocera e Cabernet Sauvignon.
Confezioni : cartoni da 12 e 6 bottiglie da 750ml
Casanova Bianco Sicilia IGT 2007
Da uve Cataratto e Inzolia dei vigneti San Giuseppe e Santa Maria nasce il Casanova Bianco dai profumi delicati e solari.
Confezioni : cartoni da 12 e 6 bottiglie da 750ml
Our cellar is equipped with the latest facilities and is located in the old farmhouse , a vaulted building , the oldest half dating back to 1700 ,where our wines mature and are refined .
The modern facilities extend to an area of 800m2 with storage capacity for another 1000 hl of wine of which 800 hl are in stainless steel tanks and 200 hl in small oak casks .
The great Sicilian wines have something very special about them and in this cellar a truly exceptional wine ,Mamertino Vasari,has been created .
Today it is possible to taste this vintage wine which is the outcome of the pulsating creativity , imagination and passion of Ruggero Vasari .Tasting the Mamertino will make you realise why this wine was considered " un vino per gli Dèi " , a wine for Gods .
Today , Mamertino is no longer reserved just for their table !
The character of the wine depends fundamentally on the grape variety used in making that wine.
The Local Wine Making Tradition is forged by three elements: The Human Touch;Environmental Conditions;and The Terrain. These are what determine the choice of grape variety or varieties in specific areas and even more particularly for different parts of the same area.
In the communes of Santa Lucia del Mela and Meri where the Azienda Agricola Vasari vineyards are situated,the Nero d'Avola and Sangiovese,Nocera and Nerello Mascalese varieties are cultivated to make red wines.Cataratto Comune,Cataratto Lucido,Inzolia and Grillo are grown to make white wine.Vasari grows the Nero d'Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon and Nocera only for red wine;and Cataratto Comune and Lucido,Inzolia and Grillo for white wines
Cataratto
Cataratto is the most widespread grape variety grown in Sicily:This native grape matures early at the beginning of September producing a balanced and fragrant wine with heaps of character reflecting the growing conditions and local terrain.These grapes are used for the Mamertino Bianco and the Mamertino Bianco Riserva DOC
The art of Tasting
There are various types of wine: still, sparkling, champagne-type, all of which differ in body, fragrance and balance; all wines should have a concentration and strength to enable you to enjoy them.
Every wine reveals a complexity and intensity of flavour of its own. White wines can be identified by their pale fruit colour, the hint of acidity, and a flavour such as melon,peach, or nuts such as almonds.
In a red wine it is fruits like cherry or plum or a hint of spices which give the flavour. It is not easy to anlyse and describe a wine.
There is a wide range of perfumes coming from a wine which may exceed 400.
What are you to do? Let's leave it to the experts to produce the detailed descriptions. For wine consumer and amateurs, let's agree that the wine should be pleasing and we should be able to drink it and, if we wish, we can use just a few words to describe its colour, fragrance, flavour, body, and aftertaste.
Colour: fill a glass one-third full and hold it by the stem against a white background to observe the colour. Tip the glass to better observe the depth of colour. The Mamertino Millennium is ruby red in colour whilst the Mamertino Bianco is straw yellow.
That's the first step. Now rotate the glass and swirl the wine all round the inside of the glass to liberate all the aromas of the wine. Thus it is exposed to the air which vapourises the wine so that the various fragrances diffuse and confront our olfactory senses.
Fragrance is the most important part of a wine. We have noted the colour, we have sniffed the wine and now we'll sip it and appreciate all its complexity. Make sure that you just sip it, don't swallow it, and then you will experience the after-taste.
What is the language of wine?
Wine has its own language. I am not about to bore you by listing all the terms which are used to describe a wine. I'll just give you some of the terms which are,let us say, fundamental:
- Acidity: the level of acid in the wine can make it vivacious or silky.
- Alcohol: with more or less alcohol content.
- Aroma: the fragrance of the wine which usually closely matches that of the fruit.Whena wine is aged the bouquet is an expression of the aromas acquired during the process of ageing
- Body: the perception of the weight of the wine in the mounth, applies to red wines.
- Denominazione: the provenance, a well-defined area
- Fruit: a wine which has a 'nose'reminiscent of fruit. The Mamertino Red 2001 has the mature cherry nose characteristic of the Nero d'Avola grape.
- Finish: the final impression of the wine which is feft on the palate.
- Structure:the structure or balance of the wine taking into account total acidity and tannin
- Tannin: gives balance to the structure and allows red wines to age.
- Grape variety: the specific grape variety used to produce a wine, for example Nero d'Avola, the variety used to produce the Mamertino Red.
What can we say about agritourism/agri-tourism today?
There is something genuine and true about a simple vegetable soup made in the kitchen with beans and cabbage and cooked in rainwater.
The factory product containing preservatives, adorned with a battery of fine words and the re-heated bears no comparison!
The impoverished, ignorant 40-year-old countess and drunken waiter have ruined modern agrotourism by exploiting convenience products.
This version of agrotourism is Paradise Lost ! But there is also the agrotourism of Ruggero Vasari...
He offers you his own wines, produced with passion from selected grapes matured in oak barrels. He serves you salami and cheese typical of Santa Lucia del Mela together with his own olives in brine.
You can enjoy these in a rural setting surrounded by sounds of the countryside.
A good wine glass helps you live to a ripe old age. And if the wine is produced from grapes grown by organic methods, it contributes greatly to an improvement in our health.
Wine is a precious element in nutrition and enhances our life style. Can you imagine a worker's breakfast or dinner without wine? Impossible! The judicious selection marriage of wine and food for each course is a sign of distinction.
What should we look for in a wine?
Good quality goes without saying. But also search for the elusive emotional response. Whenever you buy and drink a bottle of Mamertino Vasari, you can be sure it will strike inside you, produce an emotion, a sensation, a sense of style.
Live the dream! Leave your safe, cosy, everyday existence.
Wine has always been an essential component of art. Since the days of antiquity ,there has been no aesthetic movement which is failed to include wine.
It is manifest in sculpture, painting and literature.
Not since the beginning of the 20th century, when the artistic revolution of Futurism took an interest in all forms of human Expression triggering a U-turn, have we saved anything concerning cookery, our way of cooking, of presenting dishes, of eating and of drinking.
Of wine ,the Futurists said that, 'if wine is a drink of ancient tradition, it is nevertheless a drink which renews itself on an annual basis, a dynamic drink which contains man's fuel and his life blood.
It's great! It's of the moment. The Futurists and futuristic thought felt the need to promote Italian wine.Every initiative to enhance the value of wine is welcome. Let's hope so! But the futurists want to open, 'the gates to avant garde artists to promote wine with stylish criteria, allied to Futurism by applying the latest advertising techniques''.
What can we say? Perhaps those bodies devoted to promote Italian wines should read the futuristic texts.
Neither has the interior design of the places where wine is consumed been neglected by the futurists.A feature in the Italian Wine Journal " Giornale Vinicolo Italiano " commented on the topic of interior design: There are many people in this world who love classical architecture and who like to drink the latest wine-produced in ultra-modern wine making facilities! -housed in mediaeval buildings or in strange, cavernous, stunning cellars reverberating to the sound of jazz bands.
These people do not think it at all necessary today for the grapes to be pressed with one's feet. Or, if they do think so, they do not assign much importance to it.
Probably they do not want to remeber that highly ornate wooden vats-alas! - are decreasing in number in modern cellars which are now largely adorned with batteries of stainless steel vats on several levels.
Even the poor casks have submitted to the unstoppable march of technology! After having clung to barrels for as long as possible, there has now been an explosion in the construction of the super-tanks of 800 hectoliteres.
Again: '' it seems that today wine can search for and findwhat is best in modern genius and take advantage of significant advances in archtecture, design, pavilions, restaurants, presentations and publicity ''.
The new futuristic cooking
Philosopher Benedetto Croce defines the Futurism as, ''magic in action''. The futuristic mouvement has not spared cooking. You can amuse yourself with F.T.Marinetti and Son's
'' La cucina futurista ''- published in 1932.
We should be most grateful if you succeed in finding a copy- '' the modern culinary revolution has the highest aims, noble as well as practical for everyone to radically change how we eat,fortify ourselves bodily and spiritually with the latest life style in which experience, intelligence and fantasy effectively replace quantity, ordinariness, repetion and cost''.
The New Futuristic Cooking is not like the motor of a high-speed hydrofoil-heady, fast and dangerous.Instead it makes you want to create a harmony-on the palate and in your life-today and tomorrow.
Forget decadent and legendary excesses-men have been nourished up till now like ants,mice,cats,and oxen. The first human cooking was born with the Futurists, born out of the art of providing for ouselves.
Like all art, this excluded plagiarism and insists on creative originality.
The third millennium is a time for optimism at the table after the winds of war which brought such depressing panic!
And now, I give you some strange futuristic cooking recipes for which it is interesting to note that the Futurists have recipes for singles, for lovers, for divorced people and for philosophers!
Sicilian Headland
Chop together some tuna fish,apples,olives and peanuts and spread over a cold egg and marmalade omelette.Don't forget to serve a Mamertino Bianco with it
Erodiade's Rice
Heat together in a pan over a high flame the best virgin and honour the glorious name of Mallarmé,as the virgin sang.In a green,swampy landscape sprinkled with sensuous deep blue irise,take some rice and boil in some salted milk.Sprinkle with pepper and finish with powdered iris rhizome.Serve with a Mamertino Rosso 2001,naturally produced by Ruggero Vasari.
And to end today, here are instructions for preparing " Uova divorziate " , Divorced Eggs
hard-boil two eggs.Separate the yolks from the whites.Set the yolks over a mixture of potatoes and the whites over a mixture of carrots,adding extravirgin Vasari olive oil,salt and pepper.Don't forget to serve with Mamertino Millennium 2000.
One of the vineyards from which the exceptional product of the Organic Farming VASARI comes.
The happy geographic position of hills, on which the vineyards extend, contribute to guarantee the authentic character of the wine in the respect of the atmosphere and the tradition.
Organic Farming
Nature creates and re-invents itself -as Horace's poem goes.
Today 2000 years later, I believe that nature will be not compromised again.
In the name of economic development,the bulldozer destroyed the land and the hills. They ripped open mountain, raped it of its treasures and emasculated the landscape.
Nature cannot re-invent itself! In agriculture, they have propagated veinous practises. Radioactive waste is the ultimate expression of the ills and wastefulness of the consumer society. As someone once said: Enough! I want to eat but I want this to be achieved through sustainable development.
And so organic farming became the point of departure. It recognises that the land can no longer support thousands of tons of chemical fertlisers. Our water cannot absorb excessive quantities of nitrates. We don't want to use synthetic chemicals which have wiped out the birds and the flowers! This is organic farming-a clean form of agriculture which creates foods which are not contaminated with poisons.
To think that even Lucrèzio was right! This force for optimism has taken root again after 2000 years as Ruggero Vasari predicted in his play ''RAUN'' where the Child acted out the part of Nature who, violated and over-powered, by the will of man, still managed to hold fast to his spirit and to bounce back.
With the same violence, the same rapacity and inexorability, Nature snatches back control of its true direction.
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The method of farming organically is controlled by European Union regulations with which all Member States must comply.
In Italy, organic farming is controlled by organisations authorised by the Ministry of Agriculture
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L'Azienda Agricola Vasari has been registered as an organic farm since 1991 and is controlled by Suolo e Salute - the Land & Health Commission a control body authorised by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture.
All products from the estate-wine, oil, citrus fruit and all the other products-only receive the organic farming certificate after detailed analysis confirming that they do not contain any synthetic chemicals, pesticides, hormonoes, nitrates etc etc etc.
Moreover, no animal products, whether natural or synthetic, are used either in the cultivation of the land or in the production processes and therefore our wines, oil and other products are suitable for vegetarians
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Wine and Travels
A Sicilian journey into wine and art,between the deep blue of the sea and the green of the vines, the olives and citrus groves, will infuse you with a breath air and history.
If you can insert fine wine and food into your itinerary you will have a wonderful memories of Sicilia specialities.
We should like to guide you along the Mamertino Wine Route- the Strada del Vino Mamertino.
From Milazzo to Santa Lucia del Mela you will enjoy enchanting landscapes, dine in restaurants where you will be offered typical local specialities and visit the cellars and vineyards of Ruggero Vasari in Santa Lucia del Mela.
Ruggero will take you through a tasting of his red and white wines.
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The Azienda Agricola Vasari also sells renowned Extra Virgin
Olive Oil, Citrus Fruits, Spirits, Coffee, Honey, Grape Sugar and
Pasta .
All these products bear the Organic Farming Certificate .
Mamertino - Extra Virgin olive oil
pure organic extra virgin olive oil obtained from a careful selection of Biancolilla olives
collected by hand and cold pressed.
Fruity with a typical Mediterranean taste
Mamertino-Extra Virgin Olive oil with Lemon flavour
Olive Oil flavoured with lemon.
Lemon oil retains all the characteristics of Vasari's Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
This oil is flavoured with essential oil of lemon produced by organic farming methods.
Perfect as a salade dressing, with vegetables, fish and white meat.
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Mamertino's GRAPPA
A young grappa obtained from the distillation of Mamertino Rosso grapes following pressing
Caffè Jolly Espresso
A delicious blend of Santos Arabica and strong Togo coffee.
The coffee is produced on Ruggero Vasari's estates in Latin America and Africa
and exported directly to Sicily where it is roasted
Lemon Honey
Honey produced by organic farming methods.
Flavoured with organic blossom and noted for its homogenous texture which makes
this product a time-honoured health food and sought-after sweetener.
Grape Sugar
Retaining the original flavour of the grapes from which is made, the ultimate sweetener,
also suitable for those who are allergic to saccharine. For soft drinks, to put in coffee, tea,
yoghurt and fro making cakes and ice creams .
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