Epicure (Indonesia)

VINE EXPECTATIO­NS

Diego Planeta of Planeta Winery

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In barely two generation­s, Planeta Winery has created a reputation for fine Chardonnay in Sicily. Santi Planeta, however, prefers to look to the past to build a greener future. By June Lee

As the largest and one of the most fabled Mediterran­ean islands, Sicily has long hosted a culture of winemaking – in fact, since 4,000BC. During the 1900s though, the attention turned to sweet Marsala and cheap bulk wine as farmers looked to higher yields. It took a new wave of boutique winemakers in the 1980s to dig in their heels before Sicily became known for producing wines that could make the world sit up. Leading the way is familyowne­d Planeta, from which the dynamic Santi Planeta literally shows me the unique soils of Sicily during our tasting in Singapore. The key to understand­ing Planeta? Don’t think of it as a single brand but a collection of six smaller wineries.

ROOTING FOR SUCCESS

Like many in his generation, 50-year-old Santi was born in one of Sicily’s regions but moved to the city of Palermo while growing up. His family home in Menfi is where his grandfathe­r Vito first transforme­d the family winery into a large co-operative winery, Cantine Settesoli, whose son Diego then managed for 40 years along with being chairman of the regional institute for vines and wine.

In 1985, Diego began planting a new vineyard with Nero d’avola, Grecanico, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and more, being the first to trial internatio­nal varieties in Sicily. The project involved his daughter Francesca and nephew Alessio, and in 1995 they had their first vintage of Planeta wines. Santi, Alessio’s brother, joined them a few years later. Today, while the cousins are involved in all aspects of the family business, they take care of different fields – Alessio is the winemaker, while Francesca takes care of the marketing and hospitalit­y, and Santi the internatio­nal market.

It’s no small feat – they produce 20,000 cases across 390 hectares, exporting to 73 countries while also managing hospitalit­y assets such as a wine resort, apartments and a restaurant.

In this ‘journey through Sicily’, they cultivated different terroirs – Vittorio, where they have indigenous Frappato and Nero d’avola for Cerasuolo di Vittoria; southeast to Noto devoted to Nero d’avola as well as Moscato di Noto; Mount Etna for Carricante and Nerello Mascalese; and Capo Milazzo for Nocera and Nero d’avola. In some cases, they restored the existing building (in Vittoria); in others they built new spots where spaces were not adequate for the volumes required. One uniting factor has been sustainabi­lity, which they enshrined in the tenets of ‘Planeta Terra’: protecting the landscape, bio-architectu­re, renewable energy and recycled material.

MAKING THE WORLD TAKE NOTICE

Planeta’s Chardonnay, with its unique Sicilian characteri­stics that balance between creaminess and crispness, refreshed with sweet spices and minerality, soon built up a reputation internatio­nally, making it “one of Sicily’s wine ambassador­s abroad”, according to critics like Wine Advocate. For the family, it was a calling card that allowed them to grow while paying attention to what was happening back home – the revival of little-known, indigenous grapes that have previously rarely been given the chance to make single varietal wine.

Notes Alessio, the three most important varieties today include Nero d’avola: “a flexible and versatile grape variety, at Noto making wines suitable for ageing, at Vittoria fruity and intense, and at Menfi area ranging from Rosé to spicy wines”. He continues, “Grillo is the variety of the future. This aromatic white has a great personalit­y that attracts consumers, with a profile like Sauvignon Blanc from the Mediterran­ean. Nerello Mascalese, in spite of living in the south, is a vine destined for great elegant reds, such as Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. It develops well on volcanic soils and altitude and dialogues with the great Pinot Noirs of the world.”

Santi sees that the second chapter for Planeta is to talk about territory. “We have defined, and now we need to refine and finetune what we have,” he details. Internatio­nally, audiences are still more familiar with internatio­nal grapes and may not demand unique production­s like Cerasuolo di Vittoria – which isn’t available in Singapore (yet). On Alessio’s side, less is better, he proclaims. “The new technology is zero technology. On Etna we have concrete tanks unlike the more neutral ones, but they have a different thickness and such that the wine changes the temperatur­e slowly, with an interestin­g qualitativ­e advantage. In Menfi we have changed from barriques to wood barrels that can accommodat­e 2,500-3,500 litres, 10 times the capacity of the former. For each wine we seek the right ageing material, for the purpose of greater integratio­n of wood and wine. Obviously, it is a return to techniques used in the past.”

 ??  ?? Capo Milazzo
Capo Milazzo
 ??  ?? Etna
Etna
 ??  ?? Vittoria
Vittoria
 ??  ?? Noto
Noto
 ??  ?? Menfi
Menfi
 ??  ??

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