Cantine Barbera

The Cantine Barbera winery, nestled in the sunny and luminous landscape of Menfi, just a few steps from the crystal clear sea of Porto Palo, is a producer of excellence in Sicily, and one of the leading figures on the island's fascinating and surprising artisanal wine scene. The identity of the winery is identical to that of the entrepreneurial winemaker Marilena Barbera who, together with her mother, produces a wine of great territorial typicality based on 15 hectares of vineyards populated exclusively by native grape varieties: Grillo, Catarratto, Insolia, Zibibbo, Perricone, Nero d'Avola and others.

The story of Cantine Barbera began in 2001, when Marilena, after years spent far away "in a place that didn't belong to me", as she once said, returned to Sicily to cultivate the vineyard that her father had left her, discovering that growing grapes was her life's calling. Today, her work is founded on organic farming and on a minimalist approach both in the vineyard and in the cellar, based on attention to detail and on making the most of the raw materials, without resorting to any kind of intervention or invasive technology. Copper and sulphur are allowed in the vineyard in small quantities and only when necessary, while in the cellar the musts are fermented with the skins thanks to the action of indigenous yeasts, for both red and white wines. The only additives allowed are vitamin C and low quantities of sulphites. All these processes are carried out by Marilena, with the help of her mother and a small group of collaborators, and her production faithfully reflects her straightforward, sincere, spontaneous and gritty character.

Cantine Barbera's wines are the result of a successful combination of the energy of the sun, the richness of the sea and the personality of the winegrower who produces them. Strength, character, energy and minerality are the words that best describe the bursts of light and sea that these labels, like very few others, are able to offer with every sip. The light of the sun reflects on the sea and makes it sparkle together with the quartz of the sand allowing the land to be bathed in sunlight and the fruit of the grapes to take on a golden, Mediterranean richness. This natural richness is safeguarded by the patient hands of the winemaker during the vinification process and is ultimately expressed in the wine glass in all its brilliance.