Porta del Vento’s amphitheater of vines in northwestern Sicily’s Camporeale is the pride of pharmacist/Palermo native, Marco Sferlazzo. His windswept 20 hectares are situated at 600 meters and planted to native varieties: Catarratto, Grillo, Nerello Mascalese, Nero d’Avola, Perricone, and Trebbiano. A recipe of old vines, low yields, and strict biodynamic farming practices are what allows him to craft wines of terroir and distinction. Porta del Vento feels somewhat otherworldly in many respects, not just for it’s natural beauty, but for its serenity less than an hour from Palermo, one of Sicily’s most vibrant cities. The place is somehow captured in the energy of Marco’s wines, offering an inherent tension that is unmistakable in the glass.
Wines/Tasting Notes:
Catarratto: Catarratto that comes from albarello-trained vines of fifty years old, harvested by hand in September. Medium-bodied, well-balanced and citrusy wine with long, mineral persistence.
Trebbí: The first Cru of Porta del Vento, 1600 forty-five year-old Trebbiano vines that are gobelet trained, located at 5000 square meters of sandy soil at the entrance of the winery, facing east.
Altroverso: Nerello Mascalese from a north-facing vineyard in Camporeale at 600 meters. It naturally embodies the spirit of the territory with its purity, freshness, brightness and overall drinkability..
Ishac: 100%Nero d’Avola, cultivated on the hills, harvested by hand in early September. Fermented in cement, Ishac is aged in 25HL oak casks for at least twelve months. It is redolent of ripe wild berries, black and red cherry, and intense ruby red color.
Voria Rosato: 100% Perricone that is fermented in cement tanks, followed by a second fermentation in bottle by adding must to the base wine. Not filtered and not disgorged.
Voria Orange: Sparkling wine obtained by Catarratto and Grillo grapes fermented separately and macerated on skins. It is then blended and elevated for 6 months in cement vats. Refermentation happens in bottle by adding must to the base wine before bottling. Unfiltered and not disgorged, with the presence of yeasts in the bottle.
Voria Bianco: 100% Catarratto. Fermentation in cement tanks, followed by a second fermentation in bottle by adding must to the base wine. Not filtered and not disgorged.
Mira: A meted classico sparkling wine based on Catarratto that is obtained by a refermentation in bottle with the addition of the first must of the following harvest. Permanence on indigenous yeasts for 20 months before disgorgement.
Annual Production: 90,000 bottles
Varietals planted: Catarratto, Grillo, Trebbiano, Nero d’Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Perricone
Soil Composition: Limestone/Sand
Vined surface area: 20 ha
Trellising system: Albarello
Vine age: 20-60 years
Method: Certified Biodynamic
