FURNARI WINES between the 60s and the 80s
In the early 1960s, when Sicilian wines did not yet enjoy the prestige they are now recognized throughout the world, Ciccio Furnari began a study and selection of Sicilian vines and grapes with the aim of obtaining, together with the oenologist Lurgo, a noble and aristocratic product, but at the same time within everyone's reach, to enhance the best fruit that the Sicilian land had to offer.
Maurizio Prestifilippo writes in the preface to the book Gasolio by Fabio Furnari (ed. Terre Sommerse, 2017): “…The Vinicola Furnari, an industrial plant that the City of Piazza Armerina was proud of: the search for the most modern winemaking techniques, a far-sighted vision that foreshadowed a turning point in the sector that would arrive in Sicily at least twenty years later, are the fundamental ingredients of Francesco Furnari's industrial adventure. The opening to large international markets, oenological research and the selection of vines were the result of an anticipatory and unfortunately out of context vision, in a Sicily that was still backward, capable of producing blending wines, subservient to the success of quality French wines”.
Thus were born the Flaming, red, the Prima Goccia, white and the Velvety, rosé, the three main wine lines of the Vinicola.
Flaming, which can be considered in all respects a Nero D'Avola ante litteram, so much so that it is the wine from which Nero D'Avola as we know it today actually drew inspiration, thanks to the winemaker Franco Giacosa, was produced by blending Calabrese grapes (Nero D'Avola), in a percentage of about 70-80% and Nero Cappuccio (about 30-20%). Aged for several months in concrete barrels and therefore relatively young, it was a product with an intense bouquet of almond blossom and earth, dry and harmonious on the palate; austere with age. Blends from the areas of Caltanissetta and Vittoria.
The first quality white wine, obtained by pressing only the first flower (first pressing), hence the name Prima Goccia, of Verdello grapes (10-20%), now unobtainable in Sicily, Inzolia, Cataratto and Zuccherino (80-90%). The vinification took place in white, that is without the presence of marc, through the direct use of the hydraulic press, thus collecting the very first juice obtained from the grapes, without the use of further pressing. Color tending to paper white with yellow and green veins; delicate aroma with hints of fruit; delicate and fresh flavor for the right acidity. Grapes coming from the areas of Menfi and Alcamo.
Velvety, undoubtedly the company's flagship product, was a dry rosé of Nero D'Avola, a lively wine with a soft and velvety character, harmonious with a light body, a delicate and aromatic scent, which was awarded first place among European wines during the Green Week in Berlin in 1970, thus also surpassing French rosé wines. With grapes coming, like Flaming, from the areas of Caltanissetta and Vittoria, it presented a rosé color on a coral background with orange nuances.
To complete the line, a dry Moscato, a white and a “common” red, Cerasuolo.