Sicily’s Symposio

Here’s the inside scoop on Symposio, a red wine from Sicily that will soon be released in the U.S. market.

Most of you know about, and probably even regularly drink, the Sicilian red wine called Nero D’Avolo.  The namesake grape is one of Sicily’s most important indigenous grapes.  What most people like about Nero D’Avolo is that it’s a lovely, balanced red that pairs well with a wide variety of dishes and, remarkably, you can get a really good bottle for less than $20.

Well, a new-to-the-U.S.-market red wine from Sicily will soon be hitting the shelves that has a similar price point and is equally appealing.  It’s called Symposio and I believe you’ll like it as much as Nero D’Avolo.  Symposio is also a balanced red wine that pairs well with many dishes from pastas to meat.  It’s an IGT wine and, according to Italy’s wine appellation system, this means that it is wine from a specific Italian region that is a higher quality than table wine (called Vino da Tavola), but doesn’t conform to the stricter standards for the DOC or DOCG classification.

 Symposio is comprised of a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot.  The wine’s alcohol level is13.5% vol. It is a light, yet robust, red that is balanced and pleasing when it first hits your palette and after that it develops an even greater depth. The producer is Principi di Butera, which is owned by Italy’s largest privately-held wine company, Casa Vinicola Zonin. I’m told the Zonin family really wanted this desirable Sicilian estate and chased it down accordingly in order to eventually acquire it.

When I tried Symposio recently, it was perfectly paired with Chef Giancarla Bodoni’s Braised Lamb with Parsnip, Leek, Potato and Scallion. 

To read more about the winemaking process for Symposio and for the technical information for our Vinophile readers, please visit this page on the Casa Vinicola Zonin website.  Please keep checking back here for more information about Symposio, as I’ll post when it’s released in the U.S. and where you will be able to find it.