In 1983, the Rallo family founded Donnafugata to champion the potential of Sicily's indigenous varieties. In the decades since, their unwavering dedication to this founding principle has resulted in “some of Sicily's top wines, if not all of Italy's” (Eric Guido, Vinous). The family has made wine in Marsala since 1851, where their ancient cellars tunnel beneath the city. They were one of the first families to make high-quality table wine when sales of traditional Marsala started to decline. Today, Donnafugata has five estates in Sicily: the historic Rallo family cellars in Marsala, a modern winery and 343 hectares at Contessa Entellina in the hills east of Marsala, 42 hectares in Vittoria towards the south-eastern point of the island, 68 hectares on the island of Pantelleria, and 35 hectares on the slopes of Etna.

The Donnafugata wines fuse Sicilian tradition with a modern approach

'Sur Sur' is made from Grillo grapes planted on the Contessa Entellina estate and its neighbouring areas. Vines are planted at 200-600 metres above sea level, with approximately 4,500-6,000 vines per hectare, and are trained using vertical shoot positioning. Pruning of the vines is cordon spur, leaving 6-10 buds per vine. The soils are mainly clay loam with a limestone content of 20-35%.

Grapes were gently pressed on arrival at the winery and left to macerate in the press for 12-24 hours at 10°C. The must was fermented in stainless-steel tanks at a temperature of 14-16°C. After fermentation the wine aged for two months in tank and then at least three months in bottle before release.

Lovely with seafood linguine, lemon-roasted chicken, or courgette fritters.