Calici di Stelle at the Donnafugata estate is back. August 10, at night, the big festival of quality wine: a multisensory experience of music and tastings.
Calici di Stelle (Goblets of Stars), the summer appointment now in its twentieth edition, that involves hundreds of wineries adhering to the Wine Tourism Movement and dozens of wine towns throughout Italy, is back again.
Among the clou events that make up the national program, the one on August 10 at the Donnafugata estate, in the heart of western Sicily, stands out also this year: one of those events that in themselves are worth a trip to the land of myth that is Sicily.
On the night of San Lorenzo and the shooting stars, in the magical scenery of the vineyards among the hills of Contessa Entellina, Donnafugata will welcome winelovers for a memorable evening dedicated to wine and music.
The first stage will be the discovery of the La Fuga vineyard, the Chardonnay from the night harvest. Here the experience becomes multisensory with the tasting of a glass of La Fuga 2016, accompanied by the notes of Giuseppe Milici‘s harmonica and Roberto Gervasi‘s accordion.
So, in the vineyard, by moonlight, there will be an exciting new episode of “Donnafugata Music & Wine, a project born in 2002 from me and my husband Vincenzo’s idea – José Rallo recounts -. The passion for jazz and Brazilian music has always united us, and has created a path that has led us to Blue Note in New York, Peking, Moscow. And proposing a musical tasting at Calici di Stelle 2017, it seemed natural to think of Giuseppe Milici, one of the artists who has collaborated in the project from the beginning and in the recording of our two Donnafugata Music & Wine CDs.”
After the tour of the vinification cellar, the wine enthusiasts will start the great journey dedicated to the tasting of all the wines produced by Donnafugata. In the garden of the estate, as many as 20 labels will be tasted. Making its debut in the collection of “fresh and fruity” wines produced from autochthonous varieties and that have an immediate pleasantness, Bell’Assai 2016 Frappato, the debut wine of the project with which the company is present in eastern Sicily in the Vittoria area and on Etna.
From the winery’s historic reserve, some rare and precious vintages of wines such as Vigna di Gabri, the cru dedicated to Gabriella Rallo, founder of Donnafugata together with her husband Giacomo, and Chiarandà, flagship white wine produced at Contessa Entellina, will also be tasted. And for lovers of long-lived wines, there will also be some unobtainable vintages of the Donnafugata icon wines, the red Mille e una Notte and the Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé.
And while, led by Antonio Rallo, winemaker for the family winery, at this very moment the first steps are being taken of a harvest that from western Sicily to eastern Sicily, for Donnafugata, will last about 100 days, feverish preparations are underway for Calici di Stelle: a great and enthralling occasion for sharing and spreading the culture of quality wine.