The 2024 vintage was characterized by a severe drought that lasted nine months: no rain from January until the very end of September. This stressed the vines a lot, with very limited canopy growth and very little production (60% less than the 2023 vintage): in some plots close to the sea we didn't even harvest. The later-ripening areas of the island were saved (valleys and plots above 250 m above sea level), maintaining a good state of health thanks to the night-time humidity and lower daytime evaporation. In the lands most affected by the drought, the real problem will be winter pruning, as the shoots are very thin and it is difficult to find the buds for annual renewal: this could compromise production for next year.
The September rains allowed an excellent ripening of the second-growth fruit of Zibibbo (racemes) with which we make Ghirbì. The racemes have maintained a very good acidity despite climate trends. Too bad about the really small harvest: it will allow us to make only 250 bottles of ancestral sparkling wine.
The analyses of the new wines offer reflective inspiration: despite a pH around 4 and low acidity, the wines, although young, enjoy a beautiful freshness and a certain length, helped by the extract (the volcanic soil rich in potassium) and by the glycerol that develops in conditions of stress. A more Mediterranean way of thinking about winemaking, breaking away from prepackaged schemes that want white wines to be drinkable only if they have high acidity and low alcohol content.
This year some labels will be missing: Kaffefi (Catarratto grapes), Nivuro Nostrale (Pignatello grapes), Passulata (Zibibbo from early-ripening zones near the sea) and the four “single vineyards”. The few grapes available were used for Firri Firri and Terra Forte and the bottles available will be few. However, there will be some confidential experiments, which I deem very important to know more and more the many facets of our territory:
- Kharci (in dialect it means unpruned vine), made from grapes coming from a very old vineyard at 350 meters above sea level that was not pruned (but that from this year we will recover) because the owner passed away and no one wanted to take care of it anymore.
- Ghirbì MC– a metodo classico sparkling made with Zibibbo racemes: we will use a special cap that allows us to exclude the yeasts of the tirage without doing a disgorgement. I worked on the design of this cap during my university thesis and it has finally been made! We will be the first to use it.
This difficult year invites us to reflect. In extreme territories like the one we live in, we must study and deepen our long winemaking tradition: to not remain anchored to the past, but using it as a springboard to jump higher. We are helped by the ancient island cultivation techniques such as making a basin for each plant, weeding the weeds several times a year to conserve even the smallest drop of water and, above all, improving the structure of the soil by increasing the available organic substance to allow the plants to react in the best way to increasingly exaggerated climatic conditions.
The good news is that this year we will come out with the four single vineyards for the 2023 vintage after a full year of rest in the cellar. They will have a new look and we will try to explain as best as possible the differences that such a small island can bring to your glass using a single grape variety - Zibibbo - but coming from different altitudes, exposures and soils.
