Cantina Horus is headquartered in the town of Acate, in Sicily’s Ragusa province. Acate is about 10 minutes from Vittoria, the namesake town of the Cerasuolo di Vittoria appellation, which covers a broad plateau in the island’s southeastern-most corner. It’s a Certified Organic paradise growing grapes, almonds, and olives. Natural fertilizers are used to enrich the soil, rose bushes line each row of vines, and pest-fighting organisms are deployed throughout to protect the crop and promote biodiversity. Of the 100 or so hectares of land, 30 of them are planted to vines. The soils here are referred to as terra rosa, and consist of reddish, sandy clays with a stratum of limestone underneath.

Like the best reds of nearby Mount Etna, 100% Frappato wines are more about brightness, freshness, and perfume than weight. As is typical with most “varietal” Frappato, Horus crafts this one in the most straightforward manner: stainless steel fermentation and aging, to preserve the wild red and black fruit. The wine shines a deep cherry-red with hints of pink and orange, with a fruit-basket of aromas including concentrated wild strawberries, red currants, black cherries, raspberries, rose petals, black pepper, and underbrush. It is light-bodied and refreshing, with bright acid but very soft tannins and modest alcohol—a chillable, food-friendly red of the highest order, right up there with our favorite Cru Beaujolais reds from villages like Fleurie.