Catarratto

Also known as: Catarratto Bianco, Catarrattu (Sicily)

Catarratto is Sicily’s most widely planted white grape variety – and yet rarely found on labels. For centuries, the grape disappeared anonymously into Marsala blends or was used as a neutral base wine for mass production. High yields, robust vines, little character: ideal for industrial wineries, uninteresting for everyone else.

This changes when winemakers drastically reduce yields and leave old bush vines in dry cultivation. Then Catarratto shows what it’s made of: saline minerality, citrus peel, a slight bitterness reminiscent of white almonds. Nothing dramatic, but more substance than expected.

In the range, Vino Lauria, Case Old and Marco de Bartoli work with old Catarratto vines in Sicily. All three forgo technical fining and show the grape in its original form – direct expression of volcanic soil and Mediterranean climate.