19 Aug Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Colosi Salina Bianco, Sicily, Italy

The sun is shining and I am dreaming about traveling to Sicily, Italy. It is a region I have yet to travel to but it is at the top of my list. While I cannot get on a plane right now and travel to Italy, I took a trip to Sicily as I sipped the Colosi Salina Bianco, the Please The Palate Wine of the Week. Cantine Colosi is a family-owned winery in Sicily, Italy’s southernmost region, and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The family started in 1987 and is run by enologist Pietro Colosi and his father Pietro. Colosi produces indigenous Sicilian varieties from 24 acres of vineyards in Salina, a small island in the Eolian Archipelago. The soils are of volcanic origin. The Colosi Salina Bianco is classified as Salina IGT. A Salina IGT can be a bianco, rosso or rosato blend or a varietal wine or dual-variety blend. The grape varieties used to make Salina IGT wines are classic Sicilian varieties Catarratto, Inzolia and Nerello Cappuccio, as well as Malvasia and Corinto Nero. The Colosi Salina Bianco is a 50/50 blend of Inzolia and Catarratto. The Inzolia grape is an ancient white wine variety from Sicily known for its nutty quality. The Catarratto grape is a rather neutral grape and when left on the vines a little longer, will pick up a honeyed richness. The Colosi Salina Bianco, which retails for $20, is a straw yellow color with a nose of white peach, tropical fruits, flowers and crushed oysters shells. It is fresh on the palate with the fruit notes carrying through and a mineral finish. As I sipping the wine, I closed my eyes and imagined being on the island of Sicily. I hope next time I am drinking a Colosi wine, it will be on the island.