Planet Sicily

Sicily is a wine-and-food planet; Planeta is a name to remember for easy-to-find Sicilian offerings at your local wine merchant. Planeta is a big producer from Sicily that imports broadly here (unlike so many of the Italian wines we crave that never make it to our shores); they offer wines from $10 to expensive, but this one — right in the middle of the range — is a great choice when you want a food-friendly Sicilian wine. It pairs with many, many meals — a great mid-body wine that doesn’t overwhelm your food but doesn’t disappear, either. The DOCG is Cerasuolo di Vittoria, and the blend is 60% Nero d’Avola, 40% Frappato — both hearty, serviceable, reliable grapes for Sicily’s warm climate. The taste is pepper, earth, oregano, with a bit of cranberry and dark fruits. This is a mid-body wine that wants to be served a bit under room temperature, as so many milder reds do. There is plenty of acid to work with many foods, and the finish is pleasantly lingering, with hints of redwood bark and spice. Many wines from Planeta are a good value in their price range, and this red-labeled DOCG is a great mid-level, not-too-expensive, not-too-complicated choice. Cin-cin!