Variety: 100% Catarratto
Region: Sicilia, Italy
Cost: $22 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: A brilliant lemon-green, Antisa Catarratto explodes with ripe citrus and stone fruit blossom. On the palate, the wine is crisp and firm with a pleasant broadness from the less contact. A clean and balanced finish. Outstanding at aperitivo hour or with seafood salad, salt-baked branzino, and a variety of first courses.
My Review: We’ve been drinking a LOT of white and rose’ wine of late—the weather has been nice, and with everything that’s going on (look forward to reading this years from now), we’ve been eating a lot of fish, chicken, and pork.
I had to do a search of my site to see if I’d ever had Catarratto before; July of 2015 appears to be the last time, for the record.
In the glass the wine was a light gold, with hints of green. On the nose I picked up aromas of stone fruit, white fruit, and fresh, tropical sea air; sorta what I imagine the Sicilian coast smells like.
In the mouth the wine was crisp, with light citrus flavors joined by gooseberry and stone fruit and a touch of salinity on the finish. Overall the wine had a good balanced structure, with just enough body to help it stand up to some food, without being so rounded that it lost that crisp, refreshing note.
My wife and my usual tradition is that once a week we take a date night—we go out to a local restaurant and eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves. With the stay-at-home orders we managed to continue that by supporting local restaurants and ordering take out.
To pair with the Catarratto we ordered from a local seafood restaurant (Locals Oyster Bar & Seafood Market), getting fish and chips (a personal favorite) and a dozen oysters. Fun fact: I have never shucked oysters before this, and I have a newfound respect for every shucker that I’ve worked with or that has served me oysters.
My arm was sore for days.
That being said, the wine was a great pairing with the food. The salinity and the oysters were perfect, and had it been warmer outside, and we were allowed to be around friends, sharing fresh shucked oysters and the 2018 Tasca d’Almerita Catarratto with friends would be a great way to spend some time; hopefully we’ll get to do that again soon.
For $22 I really like this wine, especially as the weather continues to warm. Once we’re allowed to gather in groups, I recommend grabbing a bottle and a few dozen oysters and just spending some time with friends and family – we’ve all earned it.
Editor’s Note: I received this wine as a free sample for review.
