AWS 2022 National Tasting Project goes to Sicily

I was surprised to find out that Sicily produces more white wine than red. The freshness and aromatic qualities of these wines is a remarkable feat in such a warm Mediterranean climate. The most special surprise came just four days prior to the 45th anniversary of the king’s passing.

National Tasting Project (NTP) is a wine tasting set up by the national American Wine Society (AWS) committee of wine from a particular region selected for all of the chapters to conduct a tasting of the same wines. Below, I have the Ann Arbor chapter results and will add the national results in a few months as soon as the national committee shares the total results of all chapters. Unlike the past NTP wine tastings in which I ordered all of the wines on-line through a vendor working with the American Wine Society, I attempted to buy as many as I could locally. The Village Corner was able to source several of the NTP wines as well as suggesting a few other noteworthy wines to add as a basis of comparison. While Alice and I were shopping Trader Joe’s we also found a few other wines to use as a warm up while people were settling in. As always, the wine flights were tasted double blind. No one knew the brands, types, classification* or prices. Below, I list the wines in the order in which they were tasted with my tasting notes and score followed by the group score and corresponding AWS medal** for that score. I was the only AWS graduate wine judge at our tasting, but when I publish the national results, I will separate the wine judges average score from the average scores of the tasters at large. Also, I will list the percentage of chapters scoring each wine among their top three. As I’ve said before when you average even a couple dozen scores let alone thousands of scores, of course, all of the wines get an average score. The Etna Bianco below is the perfect example of this. Besides several high scores, it also received a 10, an 11, a couple of 12’s and 13’s. This phenomenon is present even when only using the scores of trained wine judges. Even after emphasizing that it is the duty of the scorer to start at 20 and only take points off for flaws, most of the wines still got average to below average scores. It’s just human nature. Therefore, to me, the only real testament to the individual wine qualities is to look at which ones scored highest among the most chapters. I will emphasize that information when I get it and add it to this blog post.

WARM UP WINES

2021 GRIFFONE Organic Pinot Grigio Terre Siciliane IGT $4.99 at Trader Joe’s shows up with bright lively straw color and hints of citrus and earth. Pleasant but simple. My score 14 BRONZE, group 15 BRONZE 2021 GIARDINO Pinot Grigio Rosé Vivace Delle Venezie IGT $5.99 at Trader Joe’s is really a pretty wine. Yes, I know Venezie is not in Sicily but I could not find a Sicilian rosé. Lots of fresh zip with plenty of red wine aromatics and a decidedly red wine finish too. Most Pinot Grigio rose is sort of orangey looking. I wouldn’t be surprised if they may have added a dollop of red juice here. My score 16 SILVER, group 14.7 BRONZE. BAGLIO BAIATA Alagna Marsala Dry Superior Old Marsala DOP $12.99 at the Village Corner needs a bit of explanation. Although they classify Marsala as Dry, Medium and Sweet, in reality it is Sweet, Very Sweet and Extremely Sweet. “Dry” is in fact 4% residual sugar! However, with the complexity of aging and the higher alcohol, it is quite refreshing as either an aperitif or as a digestif. It is fabulously complex with notes of butter, nuts and dusty spices. The darker than expected color is testament to the aging process. Technically, it is considered a white wine. My score 18 GOLD, group 15.5 BRONZE

SICILIAN WHITE WINE FLIGHT

2019 BAGLIO di GRISI Grillo Sicilia DOC $17.99 on line is a fine light transparent white wine with surprising freshness for a three year old wine coupled with a dusty exotic wood spice not unlike nutmeg. My score 15 BRONZE, group 13.9 NO MEDAL (AWS National Average 14.53 BRONZE, Certified Judges 15.49 BRONZE) 2020 Famiglia ROCCA PERCIATA Grillo Sicilia DOC $14.99 at the Village Corner was one of my favorites which had it not been side by side with the Etna Bianco, I’d have probably given it a gold too, but, the Etna Bianco was definitely in a class above. Almost everyone at our table commented on the lemon essence reminding me of lemon peels left in the pan when cooking fish and later eagerly devoured at the table. The finesse and complexity is remarkable for a light white wine. My score 17+ SILVER, group score unbelievably 13.7 NO MEDAL (not judged nationally) 2020 Azienda Agricola Francesco TORNATORE Etna Bianco DOC $22 at the Village Corner gets a WOW as soon as you stick your nose in the glass. This is one huge, complex, fascinating wine with a seemingly endless array of scents and textures undoubtedly owing to it’s volcanic terroir. Though the website does not mention any sort of aging regimen, it also offers an astonishingly rich, round, barrel-aged mouth-feel. Yes, all of this complexity in a wine less than 2 years old. My score 18 GOLD, group score 15.1 BRONZE (AWS National Average 14.15 BRONZE, Certified Judges 15.43 BRONZE) 2020 DONNAFUGATA Lighea Zibibbo Sicilia DOC $24.99 on line gives the impression of an impressively emphatic Moscato pure fruit aroma. This wine possesses fine clean apricot nectar-like fruit which is beautiful in the nose but does not come across to the palate. Unlike Muscat d’Alsace for example, this wine has no body, no texture and almost no finish. Just too shallow and short. I gave it a charitable 15 BRONZE, group score 14.8 BRONZE (AWS National Average 15.32 BRONZE, Certified Judges 16.19 SILVER)

SICILIAN RED WINE FLIGHT

2017 PLANETA (60% Nero d’Avola - 40% Frappato) Sicilia Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG $26 at the Village Corner was, unfortunately, a corked bottle with no back up bottle on hand. Something makes me think it might not be an isolated incident. Corks come in 1000 unit bags and any cork in that same bag will taint any wine it comes in contact with TCA. We’ll see what the national results show. In fact, I’m not even sure the corky bouquet and damp mildew blanket is cork related. A few days later as I was taking the bottles out to the recycle bin, I gave the wine a sniff and it was overwhelmingly corked. Yet, the cork itself smelled fine. I suspect there are some porous surfaces in the winery containing TCA that have infected the entire batch. In spite of that, it is actually a nice wine with great texture. I wish that the TCA hadn’t masked the Frappato aroma and the Nero d’Avola spice with mildew-like scents. My score 13 NO MEDAL, group score 13.9 NO MEDAL (AWS National Average 15.34 BRONZE, Certified Judges 15.94 BRONZE)

UPDATE: While in Tucson winter of 2023, we enjoyed a bottle of 2021 DONNAFUGATA Bell ‘Assa’ Frappato, Vittoria DOC SICILIA at North Italia in the foothills. It is a light transparent ruby with a black core which was strikingly beautiful. The nose offered vividly fresh “just produced” red fruit aroma that amplifies an extremely bright edgy raw fruit texture. It is surely exotic and elusive like a wine tasted on the spot where it is made. It seems to be showing its best right now as it builds value finishing with a nice memory of the texture. We got lucky on this one! Too bad it wasn’t included in the offerings from AWS for this tasting.

2018 Famiglia TASCA Regaleali Nero d’Avola Sicilia DOC $19.99 on line was my favorite. I refer to wines like this as “desert island” wines because the freshness, vitality, nerve and spice offer up an experience that no matter how many times you taste it (presumably every day for the rest of your life if on a desert island with unlimited access to one wine) it cannot get boring because no matter how many times you sip and taste it, it is always a surprise. Yes, this wine just explodes with an edgy raw vigor with cracked black pepper, cumin and chili. The fruit is all red plums and violets. Great stuff! My score 19 GOLD, group score 15.9 BRONZE (AWS National Average 15.77 BRONZE, Certified Judges 16.03 SILVER) 2019 Famiglia ROCCA PERCIATA Nero d’Avola Sicilia DOC $14.99 at the Village Corner is another stunningly good wine for a totally different reason. Also fresh and smelling of concentrated black fruit the wine is not edgy or raw. It is a huge, ripe enormously flavorful spicy rich textured classic. If is everything I would have expected from a Rhone Cru like Chateauneuf du Pape. Nothing wimpy or Pinot-like about this wine. My score 19 GOLD, group score 15.5 BRONZE (not judged nationally) 2018 PASSOPISCIARO Passorosso Etna Rosso DOC $40 at the Village Corner is as suave as it is interesting. In spite of the light color, it has rich rustic muscle and plenty of complexity trailing all the way to the finish. I’m not sure I’d call it charming, maybe engaging is a better word. My score 17 SILVER, group score 14.5 BRONZE (AWS National Average 14.50 BRONZE, Certified Judges 15.33 BRONZE)

SICILIAN DESSERT WINE

2017 DONNAFUGATA Ben Rye Passito di Pantelleria $38 half bottle at the Village Corner was truly an unexpected treat. I was expecting something more like Vin Santo or Marsala but this wine is GIGANTIC! The only way I can describe it is to ask you to imagine the biggest, most complex wine embodying everything you love about Spanish Moscatel, French Vin Doux Natural and well aged Aussie Muscat. This magnificent wine made from dried grapes has it all. My score a perfect 20 GOLD, group score 17.9 SILVER (AWS National Average 17.06 SILVER, Certified Judges 16.28 SILVER)

CELEBRATING THE KING

Being that it was four days short of the 45th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s passing, I opened up a very special antique bottle from our cellar. 1978 FRONTENAC Portrait of Elvis Blanc d’Oro (Moscato) Vino di Tavola originally 99 cents at D Schuler’s by all rights should have been dead on arrival. A 45 year old cheap muscat with a leaky cork doesn’t have much odds in its favor. However, there was still plenty of Moscato identity, though with the age and toffee-like demeanor of a Marsala. There was also a fresh, yellow fruit peach-like essence and still a bit of a citrus zip to it. This wine was certainly not dead and enjoyed by all while serenaded by “Falling in Love with You” barely recognized as an ethereal cloud passed the tasting room.

So, what does this prove? Really nothing. It shows that even as a trained AWS Certified Wine Judge I certainly have preferences which influence my scores which ran from one NO MEDAL, three BRONZE, three SILVER to five GOLD. Our group scores were averaged so, though low were pretty consistent with three NO MEDALS, seven BRONZE and two SILVER. The AWS National Averages for those wines that were judged through out the country were also pretty consistent with six BRONZE and one SILVER while the Certified Judges gave out four BRONZE and two SILVER. So, I guess the only take away is that an individual will score some high some low and some in between while any time you average several scores, well, they all score pretty average.

Enjoy in Good Health, Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner

*In Italy as elsewhere in Europe wines are classified based on the use of protected names as well as predictable quality with DOCG at the top followed by DOC, IGT and Vino di Tavola. In Sicily, DOP (Denominazione de Origin Protetta) is used for Marsala to protect the use of the name Superior Old Marsala to Sicily. It is made elsewhere in Italy but cannot carry the DOP designation.

**For commercially produced wines the generally accepted medal score is 18-20 points=GOLD, 16-17.9=SILVER and 14-15.9=BRONZE. For amateur wines, bronze is two points lower (12-14.9) and silver one point lower (15-16.9). Gold is 17-20.