Guisto Occhipinti, the proprietor at the Cos vineyard, along with his niece, Arianna at the Occhipinti Vineyards are redefining winemaking from Southeastern Sicily for this wine blogger.

Interestingly, they are making something brand new to the palate by reaching back to pure organic wine making, both in the vineyard and the winery—biodynamic farming, no commercial yeasts and little to no sulfites. They are creating something new and individual by perfecting something old and natural with their personal stamp. Kind of like traditional terroir meets organic meets cult winemakers who dance to their own great taste.

Cerasuola di Vittoria Pithos adds another dimension to the already remarkable Nero D’Avola/Frappato blend that the vineyard produces. This bottling is fermented in anfora from Greece and I must admit…anfora?… I didn’t even know what it was.

Here’s the short and interesting story. Wine was born when there was a way to control oxygen during the fermentation process. And clay containers were invented about 6000 years ago. 4500 years ago in Europe (Greece) where anfora was used to make containers for fermentation and bottles for storage. Kind of cool, folks could make wine when they figured out how to make clay pots. So when you go to a museum and see old clay things, they were already enjoying a good glass of wine ☺

Cerasuala di Vittoria Pithos is fermented in anfora pots. Alcohol is created in these natural porous containers buried in the ground to control the temperature during the first fermentation. And yes, you can taste the earthiness and wildness here.

This organic blend of 60 percent Nero D’Avola, 40 percent Frappato is complex, luscious and elegant with a hint of something different that I’m honestly unable to describe. Maybe it’s the clay. Maybe it’s the volcanic minerality of this high elevation, sea-cooled area. Maybe it’s the unfamiliar pleasantness of an organic wine. I can of course, taste the Nero D’Avola and the Frappato but they’ve become something new.

I love this bottle. Period. It pleases my taste, it challenges my palate and it stimulates me intellectually to try and understand it.

Chamber Street Wines is selling this at $40 a bottle.

Try this wine, both with and without anfora, and try the Occhipinti Nero D’Avola and Frappato vintages. They are a holiday present to all of us.