As the wine revolution that transformed Tuscan winemaking in the 1970’s has driven the price of land in this super-fashionable part of the world ever higher so it has driven 
ambitious winemakers to the more affordable south - first Umbria and increasingly these days, Puglia and even Sicily.
The jury is still out on whether it’s possible to make really fine wine in such sun-baked regions, or at least this juror remains to be convinced, but based on this week’s WOW, the Ramione, Baglio di Pianetto, Sicily 2002 ($20) it’s certainly possible to make the sort of wine that’s perfect for the region’s traditional dish of pasta with a tangy tomato sauce.
A great antidote to creamy California reds, this is a robust, rustic, red-and-white-checkered-tablecloth sort of wine with lovely cherry-berry flavors backed by a tart meatiness - a peasant wine with ambition.
A Hearty Winter Red Wine from Sicily