Kim Uncorked: Welcome to my weekly wine recommendation.
Hi, I’m Kim, a passionate lover of wine, food, and any experience that brings the two together! In this weekly blog post, I share my thoughts on a wine that I’ve recently purchased from one of our local independent wine merchants. If you’d like to know more about me, I’ve included a brief bio following the post.
2023 Cusumano Nero D’Avola
Sicilia DOC
Liberty Wine Merchants
$24.99
Various locations
This week we’re taking a journey to Sicily to discover Nero d’Avola, Sicily’s most important indigenous red grape. Named after the town of Avola in southeastern Sicily, it’s celebrated for its generous fruit, peppery spice, juicy acidity and supple tannins, producing wines that balance richness with freshness and elegance.
The family-run Cusumano Winery is led by two brothers whose combined passion for artistic excellence and meticulous attention to detail has shaped the estate’s modern and innovative approach to Sicilian winemaking. For this wine, Nero d’Avola grapes are manually selected from the vineyards of San Giacomo, where the white limestone soils contribute to the wine’s freshness and balance. The wine is then fermented in stainless steel and aged on its lees for five months before bottling.
The 2023 Cusumano Nero d’Avola is a vibrant, fruit-forward wine. Aromas of red plum, cherries and warm spice lead to a juicy palate of dark cherry, cocoa and black pepper. Medium-bodied, it combines velvety tannins with refreshing acidity, making it more elegant than powerful. This is a fresh, modern expression of Sicilian Nero d’Avola that’s both easy to sip and distinctly food-friendly.
Serve Nero d’Avola with grilled meats such as burgers or lamb, or rich tomato-based pasta dishes. For a vegetarian pairing, Eggplant Parmigiana would work particularly well.
Kim Mead is a Vancouver-based wine and food writer. She holds the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines with Merit, the French Wine Scholar designation with Honours, the Bordeaux Masters designation with Honours, and the Italian Wine Essentials certification. Kim serves as Cellar Master for the Vancouver chapter of the International Wine and Food Society and is a member of the Commanderie de Bordeaux. Follow her @agalandaglass