CENTONZE

Sicily, Italy

This is a very special company, established in 1998, which is owned and managed by the Centonze family, Giovanni together with his son Nicola, his daughter Carla, his granddaughter Martina and his brother Gino. Giovanni is an oenologist who has worked for various Sicilian wineries and he is the former president of the Association of Sicilian oenologists. Nicola is an oenologist. He graduated at the renowned University of Conegliano Veneto and he now successfully consults for many estates throughout Sicily and in other Italian regions. Martina is a trained sommelier and graduated in oenology at the University of Marsala in March 2018 and now, in addition to dealing with sales, she helps her grandfather and her father manage the company. Carla is a wine technician and manages the family’s wine shop in Marsala, together with her uncle Gino.

Centonze Srl is much more than a company of wine merchants or “négociants”: although the family does not own the vineyards from which the wines are produced, every year certified organic vineyards, in the most representative terroirs of Sicily are selected, the grapes are vinified and the wine is bottled with the company’s label. All phases of production, from cluster to bottle, are followed by Nicola.

The wines are mainly made with indigenous Sicilian grape varieties: Frappato, Nero d’Avola, Grillo, Zibibbo. In 2016 a wine exclusively made with Syrah was bottled, as this international variety is now well integrated in Sicily. The range also includes the only DOCG wine in Sicily, Cerasuolo di Vittoria (a blend of Nero d’Avola and of Frappato) and Amaro Rizza, made with 12 herbs harvested in Favignana and in Marettimo (two beautiful islands of the Egadi archipelago in front of the town of Trapani).
The logo of the company is the “onza” or “oncia” coin, an ancient coin that was used in Sicily and that is a symbol of prosperity. It is designed on the labels of the wines.

The philosophy for wine production: to respect the grape variety without upsetting its balance. To work with yeast that has been selected in the area where the vineyards stand. Nicola believes in respecting the consumer offering wine (which is also a beverage and food) that is genuine, drinkable, pleasant, made sensibly and with a good and even quality each vintage. His aim is to make wine with only a few, but well done interventions.

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