Today finally felt like the beginning of Spring in New York City. After a long seven hour stint at the Tre Bicchieri tasting yesterday, I was looking forward to making dinner at home for a friend from Chile. What to serve is always an issue and then my eyes settled on a bottle of Kados 2006 by Duca di Salaparuta.

Duca di Salaparuta is a very ancient winery in Sicily which was established in 1824 by Giuseppe Alliata, Prince of Villafranca and Duke of Salaparuta. The Duke began his career as a wine maker using the indigenous grape Inzolia from his lands in Corvo di Casteldaccia. Well known Italian writer Dacia Mariani is actually the granddaughter of Duke Enrico, the last Duca di Salaparuta to own the place.

Duca Enrico is the name of a wine from Duca di Salaparuta that has a special meaning to me. I first drank it in 1997 when I began my Italian wine studies. It was my very first Nero d’Avola. Oddly enough, Franco Giacosa, who I spoke about recently on my blog was the enologist for that wine at the time. Before moving to Zonin, Giacosa worked for 22 years at Duca di Salaparuta.

I have had this wine, Kados 2006. many times but it seems much more memorable today. It tasted like Spring in a glass.

With a beautiful straw yellow color, it had a floral, honeyed bouquet with mature pear, vanilla and honey aromas. On the palate it was full bodied, with good acidity and well balanced alcohol. The same flavor profile came through on the palate with a richness that was a delicious surprise. It had an almond note on the finish and soft tannins. It had a soft and velvety mouthfeel and was very long and persistent.

The wine is made from 100% Grillo and is produced near the town of Salemi where grapes grow in soil that has a combination of clay-silicates . The wine ferments in oak barrels for 40 days and then ages on its lees in glass lined cement tanks until the Spring.

I served this with dill crusted salmon and broccoli rabe, a very easy dinner. The acidity and floral notes of the wine offset the rich, succulent flavors of the salmon.