The wines of eastern Sicily have really come alive in recent years, thanks to people like Gianfranco Daino with the guidance of Salvo Foti. Drawing on ancient farming techniques of the region, all of Daino's Nero d’Avola, Frappato, and Alicante vines are trained as bush vines; the air circulates through them, fostering natural ecosystems in the vineyards. His vineyard borders the Bosco di Santo Pietro woods, approximately 20 km from Caltagirone, in the southeastern area of Sicily. His vineyard and farmhouse are nestled in the woods, home to a diverse array of wild animals, including foxes, rabbits, wildcats, and a multitude of birds. The forest boasts old holly oak trees mixed with an abundance of Quercus suber, better known as cork trees. These cork trees are the same trees that provide him with corks for his bottles and also give the name of his red wine.

While he does not have his own cellar, he can make his wines at a local estate. Gianfranco Daino is an award-winning winemaker committed to organic and biodynamic practices; the wine embodies the care and passion that stem from his tireless work. As part of the I Vigneri consortium, where they elevate their fieldwork to a new level of care, the wine is made in the vineyard, not in a lab - true wine rich with sun and soil.

These are wines that epitomize the southeastern area of Sicily. They express what words cannot, bringing sunshine to your heart and a feeling of needing to be there, in Caltagirone, with Gianfranco, sharing a meal, some moments in time, and definitely a few glasses of his wines by the vineyard.

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