07 Mar Discovering Sicily – The Time Is Now

After the latest season of The White Lotus on HBO, the Italian region of Sicily is at the top of everyone’s list—including that of wine connoisseurs. “The time for Sicilian wine here in the USA is now,” explained sommelier Matthew Kaner while serving as the host for a seminar and dinner featuring two Sicilian producers at No. 10 Restaurant in Los Angeles last November. “Awareness is booming, and we continue to get access to more and more incredible boutique wines from all over the illustrious island,” he said of the event, which was organized by the Italy-American Chamber of Commerce West (an identical seminar was hosted later the same week at French restaurant Tesse in West Hollywood). As I wrote in my story for the Tasting Panel Magazine, the two Sicilian producers were Cambria Vini and Cantine Madaudo. These two wineries are very different but have been friends for generations. They came to Los Angeles to share their stories. Madaudo, which works only with indigenous grapes, presented its Etna wines. Cambria works with international as well as indigenous grapes. But the highlight of its lineup was the ancient native variety Nocera. Read about these two producers and their wines in the March/April 2023 Issue of The Tasting Panel Magazine.