Caparra & Siciliani
Few parts of the world have a landscape more evocative than that of Italy’s Calabria. In fact, there are few parts of the world offering views better suited to sitting back in the sunshine, with a glass of chilled wine in your hand, and living your best life than Calabria. This is a part of Europe dotted with olive groves, crumbling ruins, and endless sun-parched rolling valleys… and, surprise, surprise, it’s also home to more than its fair share of top-notch wineries, too.
One such winery is Caparra & Siciliani, which, in 1963, brought together the talents of two historic Calabrian winemaking dynasties. While both the Caparra and Siciliani families had considerable success and prestige individually, their coming together produced a result which was far more than the sum of its parts… and with their powers combined, their skills shared, and their incredible vineyards joined under the same banner, this winery was able to start producing truly world-beating wines aimed at an international audience.
The Caparra & Siciliani winery works within the prestigious and highly renowned Ciro and Ciro Classico appellations, and has access to over 210 hectares of superb Calabrian vineyards. Despite the blazing sunshine and long growing season, the fruit grown in this terroir is kept bright and acidic by the cooling influence of the nearby shoreline, which offers brisk breezes and deliciously salty winds. The chief vintners at Caparra & Siciliani (who still bear the same surnames as the winery’s founders) are known for being more than a little meticulous when it comes to every single step of the winemaking process.
They oversee the harvest, the pressing, the fermentation, and the bottling - which happens on-site - to make sure that their family reputation is kept as lofty as possible, and that the wines bearing their label not only make their forefathers proud, but also do justice to this remarkable and beautiful part of Italy. If you’re on the lookout for deeply characterful and somewhat unique Calabrian wine, this is by no means a bad place to begin.
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