2022 COS - Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG (750ml)

COS was founded in 1980 by three childhood friends, Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti, and Cirino Strano, whose surname initials form the winery's name. What began as a passion project became a driving force behind the revival of Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily's only DOCG appellation. The estate farms about fifty hectares biodynamically, certified organic since 2007, and has fermented and aged wine in buried terracotta amphorae since 2000, drawing on ancient Georgian qvevri tradition.

This Classico bottling, the estate's benchmark wine, blends 60 percent Nero d'Avola with 40 percent Frappato from vineyards on sandy limestone soils unique to this part of southeastern Sicily. Fermentation begins spontaneously and takes place in cement rather than amphora or oak, a choice made to preserve a silky, mid-weight texture without adding outside flavor. The two varieties are co-fermented together before the finished wine ages further in large Slavonian oak barrels and then in bottle, following a process COS has refined over three decades of working with the appellation.

The wine opens with wild strawberry, raspberry, almond, and crushed stone, layered with wild herb and a touch of black pepper. The palate is silky and medium-bodied, bright with juicy acidity and a lightly tannic, faintly bitter finish. Serve it with grilled swordfish, caponata, or aged caciocavallo.