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Bianco d'Alcamo
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Classification: DOC (Quality wines produced in a specific region)
Color: Pale straw yellow with greenish highlights
Area of production: Palermo and Trapani
Minimum alcohol content: 11.5%
Grapes used: Catarratto Bianco comune or Catarratto bianco lucido, from 80 to 100%
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A POEM OF HISTORY AND FLAVORS |
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This fine DOC wine (DOC /Denominazione d'Origine Controllata) / Quality wines produced in a specific region) is named after the town of Alcamo. This town reaches down to the sea not far from the capital of Sicily, Palermo on the northwest coast. Founded back in the fourteenth century, near the ancient town of Segesta, its name is associated with the melodious, sweet verses of the Medieval bard, Cielo d'Alcamo (who lived around the middle of the 13th century). Today, the town of Alcamo is flourishing afresh, thanks to the first wine tour in Sicily, which is named after the Bianco d'Alcamo DOC wine.
It's an itinerary that focuses on the wine and culinary highlights of the region, presenting them in a rich historical and archeological context and against the scenic backdrop of the magnificent landscape surrounding the Gulf of Castellammare, which is still on the northern coast, but toward the most westerly part. Touring this region offers a unique opportunity to admire the magical bagli, ancient quadrangular buildings constructed around a central courtyard. These extraordinary structures formerly served as the hubs of the area's agricultural activity. Today, many of them have been handsomely restored to serve as accommodations for farm holidays.
Alcamo is one of Sicily's most prolific wine-growing areas due to its very fertile rich brown soil, which has a high clay content. Over the years, the local peasants' skilled hands managed to provide the earth with the sort of special care that renders it even more fertile, opening up little fissures in the vineyard soil around the base of the vines in order to allow the roots to breath.
Thanks to the special soil and practices like this, the wine produced in this region has been known for its excellence since the nineteenth century. The DOC appellation officially recognized the outstanding attributes of Bianco d'Alcamo, in particular, its solid structure, capable of bringing out the best in the local dishes, which is largely based on seafood. With its delicate flavor and aroma, distinguished by a bracing freshness that is rounded out by a series of rich, fruity notes, it can be enjoyed with any kind of food.
Its delicate vivacity and freshness render it an eminently fitting accompaniment to pasta served with a sardine sauce or the local fish soup and it goes wonderfully with a steaming platter of assorted fried vegetables.
An excellent wine to imbibe with blue-fish, either baked or grilled, or swordfish carpaccio (the fish is served uncooked and cut into thin slices). It should be served at a temperature of 10°C. The marked personality of Bianco d'Alcamo is determined right from the moment the grapes are harvested, as only the best clusters are selected for this wine. Next comes the aging process and, in the case of the most important wines, this frequently involves storage in wooden casks, imbuing the contents with complex notes of sage and flint, rendering it ideal for either fresh or tangy aged cheeses make from ewe's milk.
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