At the origins of the Piazza company from Piazza Armerina are two childhood friends, Antonino and Gaetano, both of farming stock. Antonino tells us that after their studies and working as teachers, they never abandoned their love for the land and, whenever possible, they always went back to the village to help their parents, until it was up to them to take direct care of this passion that had never faded. We replanted the vineyard, initially for personal use but, given the quality of the wine, we decided to try selling it and the results were very encouraging. The land is located at 400 m altitude, almost on the border between the municipalities of Piazza Armerina and S. Cono (which "invented" prickly pear by-products), on the side of a vast and wonderful valley cultivated mainly with prickly pears, almond groves and olive groves.
The soil is of mixed type, slightly clayey and well drained, entirely south-facing. The planting density is about 3000 plants per hectare and grape production is 40-50 quintals per hectare. It is divided into two parts, one just four years old and the other less young, both flanked by rows of olive trees. Harvesting takes place at the beginning of September, with immediate destemming and fermentation of the whole for 48-72 hours, followed by pressing. We leave the must to ferment for 4 months, then rack it into oak barrels and bottle it after 8 months. The bottles are put on the market after 18 months. Fermentation is spontaneous and we do not use any type of yeast.
The wine is based on Nero d'Avola, with the addition of about 10% Inzolia (white) and 5% of other local table grapes, black, as our elders did with Sicilian wines to make Nero d'Avola more "drinkable" and less "grippy" on the palate!