SERRAGGHIA
GABRIO BINI
Pantelleria, Sicily, Italy
Gabrio Bini’s Azienda Agricola Serragghia is located 100 kilometres south of Sicily on a tiny volcanic island. It was in 1993, that Gabrio decided to leave his architect job in Milan and turn to winemaking. He established his estate in 2000, and converted the property to organic then biodynamic principles. His wines are clear expressions of the wild place they come from.
MORE OF SERRAGGHIA
BACKGROUND OF NATURAL WINE IN SICILY
Sicily is the southernmost Italian region, right on the tip of the Italian Peninsula’s boot. It is the largest island in the Mediterranean and boasts a rich winemaking history dating back thousands of years.
It has gained popularity for its diverse range of wines, from crisp whites to robust reds and aromatic fortified wines. Sicilian wines are known for their bold flavours and vibrant acidity, often attributed to the island's volcanic soils and sunny climate. Popular grape varieties include Nero d'Avola, a red known for its dark fruit flavours, and Carricante and Catarratto, which produce crisp and refreshing white wines on the slopes of the Etna volcano. Sicily's winemaking revival in recent decades has emphasised quality and innovation, making it a dynamic player in the global wine market.
Organic, Biodynamic and Natural wine. What’s the difference?
To understand this concept and its various ramifications, it is necessary to keep something clear in mind: before the 20th century and the spreading of affordable synthetic fertilisers, all farming was organic. When the shift to the use of synthetics and pesticides happened, it became necessary to diversify traditional organic farming from the new modern farming.
ORGANIC WINE
Simply put, organic farming forbids the use of synthetic fertilisers, synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or genetically modified organisms. The basic requirements are generally specific and engage the farmers not to use any chemical fertilisers and other synthetic products in the vineyard. It does not prevent the vintner from using the conventional winemaking process after harvesting.
BIODYNAMIC WINE
Let’s take organic farming one step further: Biodynamic. The creator of this agricultural system is the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who developed the principles of biodynamics in a series of lectures given in 1924 in Germany. Here lies the foundation of true organic wines, with a strict limit in the use of additives, stringent requirements and at the end obtaining a biodynamic certification.
NATURAL WINE
The previous definitions are usually, and rightfully, associated with it, because most natural wine is also organic and/or biodynamic. But not vice versa!
Natural wine is wine in its purest form, simply described as nothing added, nothing taken away, just grapes fermented. No manipulation whatsoever, minimal intervention both in the vineyards and in the winery. Healthy grapes, natural yeast and natural fermentation, with no filtration nor fining. Sounds easy, right? However, making natural wine is unforgiving and it requires a bigger amount of work than conventional wine. To this day, natural wine has no certification yet.