2021 Peri Peri "Tinuzzo" Nerello Mascalese Terre Siciliane IGT, Italy

Red cherry, wild strawberry, and raspberry lift off the glass, framed by dried Mediterranean herb and a floral top note. The palate stays red-fruited and fresh, medium-bodied, with fine chalky tannin that tightens slightly on a savory, herb-inflected finish. Structure without weight.

Nearly all Nerello Mascalese comes off the volcanic slopes of Etna on Sicily's east coast; Peri Peri does the opposite — a small estate at Sciacca on the southwest coast, a few kilometers from the sea, on reddish alluvial soils cooled by constant marine breeze. That's why this drinks fresher and more overtly fruity than the smoky, ash-and-iron Etna style — same grape, inverted terroir. It's the work of the De Cerchio family, fourth-generation growers behind Torre Zambra in Abruzzo, farmed organically with spontaneous native-yeast fermentation. The name honors the estate's first farm manager.