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Italian Food, Wine & Travel Bloggers Celebrate Italian Wine Women
Our session this month is celebrating the many wineries with women in leadership positions, either in the vineyard, the winery or the business office (or all three in some cases). Scroll down further in this post for 14 more great ideas for women-led Italian wineries!

Cantina Marilina in Sicily
My choice was serendipitously made for me in Zipps Liquors a few weeks ago. I stopped in while in the neighborhood to browse for something new. Lucky for me, the staff had thoughtfully placed notes around the store regarding women winemakers, and I had several new choices before me in the Italian Wines section. Comparing my options, I found a skin-fermented white wine by a woman winemaker, imported by Zev Rovine. Zev imports low intervention and natural wines and I’ve found I can trust his choices. (Here’s a post from another of his wineries, also woman-led).

Cantina Marilina was started by Angelo Paternò in 2001 after serving in multiple winemaking positions for others. Organic from the beginning, the property is managed in polyculture, with only about half the land planted to grapes. They focus mainly on local varieties such as Nero d’Avola, Grecanico and Moscato. Their cellar work follows their vineyard approach, using natural materials and minimal interventions.  In recent years, daughters Marilina and Federica have taken over all day to day operations with Angelo available for advice.

If you find yourself in Sicily (I hope to do so sometime!) you can visit Cantina Marilina, they’ll be happy to host you!.

The rich color comes from 13 hours of pre-fermentation maceration where the juice is in contact with the skins of the grapes.

Cantina Marilina Sikele Grecanico Bianco IGP Terre Siciliane ($19 Zipps Liquors or online here)
The vineyard is sited on calcareous soil with organic farming and hand harvesting. The wine’s color, aromas and flavors are produced with a 13 hour pre-fermentaion maceration before the grapes are pressed off the skins. Fermentation is in concrete with indigenous yeast followed by 6 months aging in concrete and 3 months in bottle. The wines are bottled with minimal sulfites.

Eye: Clear, medium orange
Nose: Clean, medium intensity. Nose is cidery initially. Aromas of dried apricots, beeswax, cooking spices – cinnamon, nutmeg.
Mouth: Dry, medium+ intensity. Flavors follow the nose with dried apricots, spices, a definite saline impression. Medium+ lip smacking acidity, medium- fine grained tannins. medium+ body, medium alchol. Medium+ finish with lingering saline note with apricots. Rich texture clearly indicates wine spent time on the skins.
Conclusions: Very good quality skin-fermented white wine. Rich texture with plenty of fruit and lively acidity balanced with a nice rich texture. Can certainly drink now, the wine has the structure and fruit intensity to age. The wine had plenty of body to pair with the grilled swordfish with fennel/tomato agrodolce.

A fine meal anytime, we grill year round at our house!

ItalianFWT Bloggers Celebrate Italian Women in Wine
Want to learn more? Join our chat on Twitter on Saturday March 7, 10-11am CST. Just look for the #ItalianFWT hashtag on Twitter! Let’s see what our friends say about their Italian female wine heroes:

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla pairs Crab and Cambozola-Stuffed Arancini + Poggio al Tesoro Solosole Vermentino 2018.
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest introduces Women In Italian Wine: Meet Mateja Gravner.
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass tells Punset Wines: The Story of One Woman’s Perseverance.
• Marcia at Joy of Wine shows Tiberio: Passion For the Land & Its Native Grapes.
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm pairs Italian Roasted Chicken with a Gianni Brunelli Rosso di Montalcino.
• David at Cooking Chat pairs Ground Turkey Bolognese with Wine from Anna Maria.
• Susannah at Avvinare shines a Spotlight on Vernaccia di San Gimignano and the Consortium’s New President -Irina Guicciardini Strozzi.
• Jennifer at Vino Travels presents Italian Women in the Wine Industry Featuring MasoMartis.
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! gives us Italian Women in Wine – Cantina Marilina.
• Deanna at Asian Test Kitchen says Don’t Judge a Wine by its Label unless it’s Mustilli.
• Terri at Our Good Life presents Women in Wine: Meet Kelly from Twin Meadows Winery + An Italian-Inspired Pasta with Finferli Mushrooms.
• Gwen at Wine Predator introduces Women to Watch in Wine: Vigna Petrussa and Vero Vino Pt 1.
• Nicole at Somm’s Table doubles up with Passion and Authenticity in Abruzzo: A Conversation with Cristiana Tiberio of Az. Agr.Tiberio and Cooking to the Wine: Tiberio Pecorino & Saffron Chickpea Stew with Seafood.
• Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairings says Cheers to Donatella Cinelli Colombini Rosso di Montalcino Produced from Women Flagship – Casato Prime Donne.

The agrodolce adds a nice sweet/sour bite to the fish

Grilled Swordfish with Tomato Fennel Agrodolce Paired with Cantina Marilina “Sikele”
As a big, ocean going fish, swordfish can easily be paired with full bodied white wines or lighter bodied red wines.  Add skin-fermented white wines to your list for swordfish! The time on skins gives the wine additional texture and deeper flavors, pairing nicely with the grilled swordfish steak. The piquant agrodolce adds another nice acidic bite to the plate and complements the wine as well.