UnCorked – Donnafugata Anthilia

At present in DC the humidity is about 3000% and the season that was allegedly spring is definitely over. Sure it feels nice in the morning right now, but after five minutes of any movement, walking the dog, breathing or standing, the humidity begins to suck away your will to live. So I recommend you do what I do when your soul is being stolen and the weather begins to laugh at you as your perspiration rate soars- find a nice bottle of summertime white wine to renew your will to live!!

When you think summer wine sipping, typically Cali chard doesn’t pop into your mind, nor does a big weighty Cabernet. You want (and need) something light, crisp and refreshing that you can enjoy and that won’t ruin your palette and fill your stomach. There are a wealth of good options, and really it comes down to a little common sense and geography to find good ones; where in the wine world is it hot most of the time? My answer, the Mediterranean. Many of the whites from around the med have been perfected by centuries of wine making to become near perfect examples of a hot weather wine. Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, the Balkans and even turkey, Lebanon and Israel have numerous examples of easy drinking summer whites. These countries share (in certain areas) similar sun baked soils, hot winds and high average temperatures. And honestly it’s hard to go wrong with most whites from the above, but I have come upon a new discovery from Sicily that I think exemplifies what a summer time, warm weather white should be – the Anthilia by Donnafugata.

Sicily is known more for its pizza and crime families than it is for its wine but when you’re the little stepchild of Italian wine making which uses over 1000 varietals to produce hundreds of thousands of gallons of wine per year, you can see why. But as thousands of US service personnel first learned during the liberation of Italy in World War Two, Sicily produces some world class wines, many of them whites. The Anthilia is classically styled as a dry white table wine that most people will find incredibly agreeable. Made principally from the Catarratto grape, it’s fruit concentration certainly makes you think of hot growing conditions that help make the fruit flavors more expressive and evident.

It is not super light in body, but still light enough that it doesn’t fill you up such that it becomes a perfect accompaniment to a BBQ or pool party where you’ll be eating periodically. It’s acidity and crisp dryness are the predominant characteristics, but neither are oppressive and actually both help to add to the feel of refreshment. Partly thanks to its aging in stainless steel; an oaked wine would never be this crisp and refreshing. It’s palish hay color and stone fruit aromas essentially scream “summer”. The aromas and flavors of white peach, apricot, a little tart apple and fantastic minerality make you think you’re at a cookout even if you’re having a glass at the whole foods in old town, which is where I happened upon this excellent find. I could almost picture a pool or a tubing trip while drinking this wine, as it was very similar in style to Greek made whites from Santorini, another hot weather favorite of mine. This wine is incredibly easy to drink, and doesn’t kill you with any aspect of its depth. The peachy / white peachy flavors are a joy to drink and lead to a nice, short, crisp finish that only makes you want another sip. Pair it with peel and eat shrimp or crab meat or just about anything at a BBQ. The acidity of the wine will cut through thicker barbecue sauces and extinguish flames from spicy rubs on chicken or pork. In short, this wine absolutely rocks and is everything you want in hot weather.

So like many stepchildren, Sicily has surpassed the more well thought of sibling in may ways as it has honed in on what it does best and knocks it out of the park. The Anthilia is not only awesome, it’s an awesome buy – $13.99 a bottle. Drink this early and often this summer as it might not be as easy to find once people discover what a well made, crisp refresher this is. Like a summertime blockbuster movie, this is exactly what you expect from a hot weather wine. Unlike so many supposed blockbuster movies, this wine does not disappoint. It will however, leave you wanting more from the sequel… Or next bottle!

Website: Donnafugata Anthilia

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