Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Island Wines, 9/14/2017

  (Argyros Atlantis Red Blend) Hello friends. Sometimes, life gets in the way of living. The trip gets canceled due to family or postponed because of work and suddenly, you’ve never been to Sicily. Or Australia. Or driven from Napa to Sonoma. That is one of the things I love so much about wine—in a world full of responsibilities that sometimes prevent us from doing all of the things we want to do, wine provides a little getaway. Wine lets us into places that we’ve never been, it introduces us to people we’ve never met, and it fills us with the hope of possibility. And nothing does this better than island wines. Wines built and born by the sea, volcanoes, and thousand-year-old civilizations, island wines are rich in ancient history. They are reminiscent of the places they come from—infuenced by the unique terroir and culture of a land removed from the rest of the world by geography. Today, we have six wines for you from three different islands: Santorini, Sardinia, and Sicily. All of these wines represent the island they call home—and they give the drinker just a small peek into the life they could live there. SANTORINI Santorini is an island steeped in history—from the basket-weaved method by which they grow their grapes (known as koulara) to the ancient vines that still stand without fear of phylloxera (the volcanic soil of Santorini has minimal clay, which prevents the disease from growing). Considering how ancient this region is, it’s almost surprising that it’s still one of Greece’s most exciting wine regions. The relationship between the indigenous grapes of the island, the millennia-old volcanic soil, and the sea mists that water the grapes create wines that are intensely mineral-driven, beautiful acidic, and reminiscent of the sea water that feeds them.Argyros Estate was founded in 1903, and is in its fourth generation of Argyros family ownership. It is currently one of the largest estates on the island, combining ancient traditions of Santorini with modern technology to produce truly unique, highly regarded wines from the region. The winery focuses on the native grapes of their homeland: Assyrtiko, Athiri, Aidani, Mandilaria, and Mavrotragano. This red blend is made up of 90% Mandilaria and 10% Mavrotragano. Mandilaria is known for being a deeply colored, aromatic, light-to-medium bodied red, while Mavrotragano, often compared to Nebbiolo, is known for mineral, spice, and fine tannins. These two grapes are typically vinified together because of how complementary they are. This particular bottle aged for six months in French oak barrels and clocks in at 13% alcohol. It pours a brooding, deep red into the glass and opens with a nose of spiced red fruit. Raspberry. Cinnamon. Cherry. Cracked Pepper. Strawberry. Leather. On the palate, it’s an exciting medium-bodied wine with plenty of pretty fruit and structure. The tannins are present and soft, texturally velvet on the tongue, and lingering. This will be an excellent fall bottle—perfect for a pairing of asian bbq, braised pork belly, or spicy roasted squash. Sardinia Between a wild, mountainous interior and the sandy beaches that run along the 1,149 miles of coastline, Sardinia’s soil ranges from actual sea sand to cracked, pebbled granite. These broadly ranging types of earth lend themselves to many different grapes, giving Sardinia a robust and divergent portfolio. From sun-soaked Vermentino to gravely Cannonau (the local name for Grenache), Sardinia’s consistency lies in its island influenced wines. These wines would not exist anywhere else—the microclimate terroir of Sardinia makes them possible.Sicily Sicily’s wine scene has flown surprisingly under the radar despite a history dating back to 750 BC. While much of the region has been used to create bulk wine or marsala cooking wine, there are still plenty of small, boutique wineries making extraordinary juice.  Like most islands, the terroir of Sicily is deeply volcanic, which lends minerality, acidity, and a rustic earthiness to the wines.