Sfera "Litro Rosato" Sicily, Italy NV

FROM PORTOVINO:

THE WINE: The winery selected by Sfera in this area is Cossentino; their vineyards are planted in red sand and red clay in a sort of amphitheater where the wind supports the grapes all year long and especially during hot summer days. A nice cool breeze comes from the Sea in night time. The area was covered by the sea, indeed in the vineyards it is still quite common to find sea fossils; Salt is very much the best friend of this area. Nero d’avola here grows very slowly and the breeze of the area helps to maintain lower alcohol and a medium structure. This wine has a specific identity thanks to Nero d’Avola and it’s also representative of the area. The red and black berries in the nose are surprisingly combined with a savoury aftertaste and a medium structure in the palate.

THE PRODUCER: Sfera’s at once terroir-driven, but also an interesting take on liters, and bottling wine in general. As Sfera says on their quirky site: Cosmic Verve in a Grounded Italian Liter…From the Alps to the Mediterranean. Sfera collaborates with multiple small certified-organic farmers to bottle liters in limited runs, and are keen to give the producer credit by clearly putting the winery’s name and providence on the back label.

This all means that the producers change, but front labels don’t. Another constant is that the wines are naturally made, and fall into certain guidelines that are lab tested before and after bottling. It’s a win-win, small certified organic producers get to do a fun liter project, and Sfera drinkers get to explore Italy.