Erice

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The production zone features limestone and clay rocks that, weathering at different rates, have shaped a highly varied orographic relief, with elevated formations such as Monte Erice and Montagna Grande near Trapani.
• Hills predominate in the production zone, with an average altitude of approximately 200 metres above sea level, while according to the area description the vineyards are situated between 200 and 650 metres in altitude.
• The soils in which the vine thrives are, in almost all cases, medium-textured with a tendency towards clay.
• The climate of the zone is of Mediterranean island type, with winters that can be rainy and a mean annual rainfall of 600 mm, and hot, dry summers.
• The production area encompasses part of the territories of the communes of Buseto Palizzolo, Erice, Valderice, Custonaci, Castellammare del Golfo, and Trapani, all within the province of Trapani. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The presence of numerous bagli — rural farmstead complexes equipped with a palmento for grape-treading, a press, and a cellar with casks — bears witness to a well-established winemaking tradition in the territory.
• The permitted training systems are alberello and controspalliera; for new plantings and replantings, vine density may not be lower than 3,500 vines per hectare for white-berried varieties and 4,000 vines per hectare for black-berried varieties.

• All wines of the appellation display well-balanced physicochemical characteristics that contribute to their balance on the palate, with pleasant, harmonious, characterful, and elegant aromas.
• The Riserva style applies to fuller-bodied red wines obtained from grapes with a higher minimum natural alcoholic strength and with an ageing period of not less than two years.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0779
• Official trade body site — Assovini Sicilia