Arianna Occhipinti, SP68 Bianco, Terre Siciliane, Italy

You’ll know about our slight obsession with Sicily at Iron and Rose, and the amazing wines and food that come from that beautiful island.

You may not know about my secret, slightly obsessive, fandom of Stanley Tucci. (Not so secret now I guess!)

Mix those two together into the recent TV series, Searching for Italy, and frankly it was an hour of bliss.

To top it off Stanley went to interview Arianna Occhipinti whose wines I fell head over heals with back when I first tasted them on a visit to Sicily in 2016. We’ve been selling and drinking them (when we can get hold of them) ever since. 

Arianna Occhipinti got involved in wine at the young age of sixteen, working with her uncle Giusto at COS, in Sicily, but stands in no-one's shadow now making wine which in her words, "in its harmonies and roughness, talks about the land where it comes from and also about me. "

SP68 Blanco is a blend of Zibibbo (aka Muscat d'Alexandria) and Albanello fermented on skins. It is tropically aromatic and light and very low in sulphates. Grown in the unique soils and climate of Ragusa.

Want to know more? Do yourself a favour, get on iPlayer, find Stanley and immerse yourself in an hour of virtual travel, preferably with a glass of this to hand.

Producer - Arianna Occhipinti
Country - Italy
Region - Sicily 
Appellation - Ragusa
Variety / Blend - Zibibbo (Muscat de Alexandria), Albanello
Wine Style - Orange Wine   
Farming - Organic / Biodynamic
Vegan 
Low Sulphates