The Sicilian satellite island of Salina, is home to
some of the most all-encompassing expressions
of terroir one could hope to drink—part of an
archipelago of seven volcanic islands off Sicily’s
northeast coast. Steep-sloped and sparsely
populated, with whitewashed villages sitting at the
base of giant, vine-draped craters where grapes
from vines never blighted by phylloxera (volcanic/
sandy terroirs proved resistant to the louse, which
ravaged Europe at the end of the 19th century). The
most famous Aeolian wines are sweet, dried-grape
nectars from Malvasia, which are labeled “Malvasia
delle Lipari” regardless of which island the grapes
come from. Delicious, salty dry whites (like this one,
labeled simply “Salina Bianco”) are also made from
Malvasia, along with a touch of other grapes such as
Catarratto.

The grapes for this 2023 edition were hand-
harvested and sorted in the vineyard, gently

pressed with full clusters intact, then fermented
on ambient yeasts in stainless steel tanks. It spent
three months resting in tank on its fine lees before
bottling. It is 90% Malvasia rounded out with 10%
Catarratto.

Although Antonino “Nino” Caravaglio officially
founded his cantina in 1992, his family has
cultivated vines and other crops on the island since
the 16th century. His vineyards have been certified
organic almost since the winery’s creation, with
37 acres on Salina. The island’s arid climate and
cleansing breezes make Caravaglio’s commitment
to natural farming easier, and the exceedingly
good health and cleanliness of the fruit enables
Caravaglio to keep added sulfur to the barest
minimum.

A medium yellow-gold with flecks of green and
silver highlights burst with aromas of Sicilian
citrus, acacia honey, white peach, Meyer lemon,
green herbs, and caper brine. A superb wine,
delivering texture, tension, citrusy aromatics, and
profound minerality. Serve it at 45-50 degrees in
all-purpose white wine stems and pair it with just
about any seafood preparation you can imagine.
Pesce spada (swordfish) is a very Sicilian choice,
and great for grilling to boot.