A Marriage for Long-Lasting Wines Nero d’Avola & Syrah – 2017 – Di Bella – 95 points ZWC
The beauty of being Sicilian often leads us to believe that everything we know originated from our magnificent island.
For years, legend has it that even Syrah is a grape variety that originated in Syracuse (Syracusae), while Pliny the Elder praised it as coming from the Rhône Valley: “a fine wine made from a dark-skinned grape called Allobrogica.”
Modern-day Iran, once Persia, particularly the city of Shiraz, is likely the homeland of Syrah and an ancient ancestor of the Shiraz grape variety.
It is also said that Syrah originated in Egypt, and that Queen Cleopatra herself was a great admirer of this grape variety. Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus, with bold ambition, wanted to introduce viticulture in Gaul. During a journey, he stopped with his legions in Syracuse and planted Syrah in this very city.
Among all the theories, it remains plausible that considering the foundation of Syracuse by the Greeks, they might have been the original carriers of this highly praised grape variety.
Cantina Di Bella
Contrada Feotto
San Giuseppe Jato (PA)
Tel: +39 351 6849117
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