Sicily Winemaker MasterClass with Nicolò Grippaldi

Join us for an unforgettable evening with Sicilian winemaker Nicolò Grippaldi and importer Jace Chaffee of The Vine Farmer.

We’ll celebrate a remarkable vigneron who is singlehandedly reviving the winemaking traditions of Enna—known as the “navel of Sicily” for its central location—and emerging as one of the island’s most compelling voices in wine. From his hometown of Gagliano Castelferrato, a mist-shrouded medieval village perched 650 meters above sea level west of Mount Etna, Nicolò stands as the area’s sole producer, crafting wines that capture the soul of Sicily’s heartland.  

After phylloxera devastated this once-thriving zone for Nerello Mascalese and Nero d’Avola, replanting never came; focus shifted to other crops. While studying philosophy in Florence, he found his way to wine and biodynamics though friends at Castello dei Rampola. Inspired, he returned home and, in 2015, replanted 2.63 hectares on his great-grandfather’s land. Remarkably, four two-hundred-year-old vines still stand at the cellar entrance. Grafts from these ancient local clones of Nerello Mascalese and Nero d’Avola form one block; another comes from a massale selection of library clones. 

It's unusual to have these two varieties side by side. Even more intriguing is that both Nerello Mascalese and Nero d’Avola reach maturity together on this land. The unusually late-ripening Nero d’Avola especially stands out for its refinement—in time, I think Enna will be recognized as the most important terroir for Nero d'Avola.

Guided by one of the early pioneers of modern European biodynamics, Nicolò follows a strict approach: biodynamic preparations 500 and 501 in the vineyard; very low sulfite use in the cellar (about 25 mg/L total, ~5 mg/L free); spontaneous fermentations; 60-day macerations in unlined concrete; and very low volatiles—something he’s particularly proud of. He never uses oak and all sulfur utilized is naturally mined. Élevage is in unlined concrete, depending on the wine, and bottle conditioning is central to his philosophy: bottles rest at least four years before release.

Yet, despite working in a relatively dogmatically natural way, he resists defining is wine and says he dislikes more natural and conventional wine. 

His first release came in 2018, when the vines were only three years old, yet the wines carry the texture, concentration, and poise of far older vineyards. Nicolò self-distributes in Italy and sells almost exclusively to about twenty top restaurants—mostly 2- and 3-star—among them the legendary Osteria Francescana in Modena.

Featuring:

2022 Il Vino di Pico
The introduction, though not an entry level wine. It's a small amount of all other wines blended together. Structure and extreme fruit transparency. 

2020 Le Domeniche di Teo
"Sundays with Teo". 76% Nerello Mascalese, 24% Nero d'Avola. Piercing focus. 

2020 Spinasanta
100% Nerello Mascelese. A grand expression that shifts in the glass. 

2020 Dei Pinti
50/50 Nerello Mascalese and Nero d'Avola, co-fermented. Intensity and refinement. Perhaps the longest aging wine of the group. 

2020 Salvatore Grippaldi
100% Nero d'Avola. The wine to showcase how great this terroir is for the variety.

$25 ticket price includes 1.5 hr tasting of wines and Italian cheese and charcuterie pairings by Baker's Best. Space is limited. All wines will be available for purchase with special event night discounts. Please inform us if you have any allergies at least 48 hours before the event.

TICKETS CANNOT BE REFUNDED WITHIN 48 HOURS OF THE EVENT.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PICK UP YOUR WINE FROM MAIN ST. ON THE EVENING OF THE EVENT, PLEASE LET THE WINE DEPARTMENT KNOW AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE BY CALLING (781) 893-1900 EXT. 130 OR EMAILING DAILYFLASH@GORDONSWINE.COM. 

EVENT QUESTIONS? PLEASE EMAIL CHELSEA@GORDONSWINE.COM