Fodor's Expert Review Cantina Basile

An exuberant welcome awaits you at Cantina Basile from winemaker Fabrizio and his English-speaking wife, Simona. Fabrizio is something of a wine rebel and innovator, and if anyone can convince you that sweet passito dessert wine works its magic better with well-chosen savory dishes than sweet, he will be the one to do it. Along with dry and sweet zibbibo wines, Fabrizio has planted cabernet franc, merlot, and syrah vines, and tastings give an opportunity to try some of his red wines. His whites include Sora Luna, 100% zibbibo grown in volcanic sandy soil where Fabrizio trains the vine leaves to grow big and act as shade to the grapes, and Trequartidiluna, where the wine must is left in oak for a month then aged in stainless steel for 10 years. Tasting include four or five wines, and are accompanied by foods chosen to demonstrate how differently the same wines can react to various different foods.