Colomba Bianca Lumari Nero d’Avola Syrah 2023, Terre Siciliane

Lumari Rosso is made by Colomba Bianca, the large grower cooperative based at Mazara del Vallo in south-west Sicily. It blends Nero d’Avola, Sicily’s signature red grape, with a smaller share of Syrah, which thrives in the island’s warm climate. The grapes come from hillside vineyards in the south-west of the island overlooking the Mediterranean, and are picked by hand into small 20kg cases. The skins are macerated at low temperature for two days to draw out colour and soft tannins, before fermentation in small stainless steel tanks. The wine then rests in tank for a few months, with no oak, to keep the aromas and fruit of both grapes intact.

In the glass it is a deep ruby red. The nose is intense, with blackberry and violet. The palate is juicy and fruity, with supple tannins, good structure and a warm, gently spicy finish.

Serve at around 16–18°C. It is a natural partner for pizza, pasta with tomato or meat sauces, grilled sausages and burgers, roast or barbecued meats, aubergine dishes and hard cheeses. Lumari Rosso is ready to enjoy now, and is best drunk over the next couple of years while its fruit is at its most generous.

Colomba Bianca is a Sicilian wine cooperative founded in 1970 and based at Mazara del Vallo, in the province of Trapani in the south-west of the island. Today it brings together around 2,500 member growers, who farm some 7,000 hectares of vineyards across the provinces of Trapani, Palermo, Agrigento and Caltanissetta, with most of the vines around Salemi, Vita and Mazara del Vallo. A large share of this land is farmed organically, making Colomba Bianca one of Europe’s biggest producers of organic wine. Its vineyards run from sandy coastal plots, suited to native white grapes, to clay-rich hills inland for reds and high gypsum hills for fresher whites, and the cooperative works with more than 30 native and international varieties across several cellars.