Fall 2022 Offer #5: Ciro Biondi

Ciro Biondi - 2020 Outis Etna Bianco

Bottom Line - The Outis Bianco is an stylish and expressive white that shows why so many enthusiasts view Etna as one of the premier white wine regions in Italy. Both food-friendly and refreshing, this medium-bodied Etna bianco has an fascinating, understated energy that keeps you coming back for more. My notes: “White flowers, lemon, melon on the nose; bright acidity, clean citrus fruit, almonds, no oak; lovely spicy salinity. Silky and fresh!”

Ciro Biondi - 2019 Outis Etna Rosso

Bottom Line: Ciro’s Outis red makes clear why Etna Rosso is all the rage in wine geek circles these days. This wine reminds me of good pinot noir – it's a medium-bodied, low tannin red that gives you much more flavor and complexity than the lithe form suggests. Etna’s hallmark volcanic minerality and dark red fruit set the wine apart though, imparting a unique flavor profile. At mid-palate, there's a sharp fruit density that lifts the wine to a long finish. My notes: “Lovely volcanic nose with dark cherry, balsamic notes; more persistent than 2018, elegant light tannins. Everything in place.”

To order, just click the one of the links above and follow the prompts. Keep reading for more information on Ciro Biondi and the Outis wines.

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Wine friends,

Is there a more universally revered Etna winemaker than Ciro Biondi? I don’t think so, not after debating top producers with lots of wine industry people in Sicily a few months ago.

It’s not just that Ciro and Stephanie’s wines are elegant and pure and inspiring. Indeed they are. There’s something else about them. You feel privileged to get your hands on a bottle. In Sicily, people are starting to talk about Ciro Biondi in hushed tones. That only happens when bottles are hard to find – too many people chasing too few bottles. It’s a situation that can lead to skyrocketing prices, but we don’t see that happening with Ciro’s wines (yet?). These wines still offer incredible value compared to other Etna wines.

Thanks again to Open Tuesday member Joe Beadles for introducing us to Ciro and Stephanie! 

Outis takes its name from the Greek word for “no one.” In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus famously used the term as an alias to deceive the Cyclops Polyphemus and escape an island thought to be Sicily. Ciro and Stephanie use the term for their Etna Rosso and Etna Bianco bottlings because they felt like “nobodies” when they started making wines in 1999. The wine’s subtitle, “Nessuno,” means “no one” in Italian.

These photos on the Biondi website are stunning (especially when viewed from a desktop).

Ciro and Stephanie only produce about 20 thousand bottles of wine per year. Of that, about five thousand bottles are Outis Rosso, and about three thousand are Outis Bianco. 

The Outis Rosso comes from 80 percent Nerello Mascalese grapes and 20 percent Nerello Cappuccio. The Bianco is 90 percent Carricante, with 10 percent Cattaratto and Minella. These five native varieties are the mainstays of Etna wine production. 

Here’s Azienda Agricola Ciro Biondi on the map of Sicily. Many of the vines grow on a volcanic crater dating back to an eruption in 125 AD.

Food pairing: During my visit, Stephanie served the Outis Bianco and Rosso with mixed antipasti, including dried tomatoes, locally grown olives, and a Pepato fresco (Sicilian sheep’s milk cheese with peppercorns). She recommends pairing the rosso with duck or seared tuna. Anything that goes with Pinot Noir would work too. Pork tenderloin would do the trick nicely.

The Outis Bianco loves medium-hard cheeses, although I can see it also pairing well with ricotta and fresh focaccia. Staying in Sicily, this wine would shine with grilled swordfish and lemon-soaked capers. Most recently, I had great success pairing Outis Bianco with a tagliolini, capesante, cacio pepe e lime (tagliolini pasta, scallops, pecorino Romano cheese with pepper, and lime) pasta from Pesce & Farina in Milan.

Open Tuesday has the lowest price in the U.S. on both of these wines.

Ciro Biondi - 2020 Outis Etna Bianco

12.5% ABV

Ciro Biondi - 2019 Outis Etna Rosso

13.5% ABV

Happy Tuesday,

Chris

If you have any questions or feedback, please email us: [email protected].  

How it works: 

After clicking one of the links above, you’ll be able to request 1-12 bottles. Actually, that’s all you have to do!

About a week later, when we close the offer, you’ll get an email confirming how many bottles we allocated to your account. We will charge you when the wines are allocated.

We’ll do our best to allocate all the bottles you request. But when there are more requests than bottles available, we’ll allocate one bottle to all requesting members before allocating a second bottle to anyone. We want as many members as possible to try these wines.

This is the 5th offer during the fall season. We are sending offers on Tuesday and Sunday through the first week of November.

We ship in increments of 12. With 18 offers this season, there should be plenty of chances to get to 12, 24, or 36. If you don’t have an increment of 12 at the end of the fall season offers, we can hold your wines until the next offer season – spring 2023.

Wines offered in the fall will ship in late November-early December for $5 per bottle (if you have an increment of 12.) This is about the same as the price to ship coast-to-coast within the U.S. – but our wines come directly from Italy.

Once your payment method is on file, you can make future requests with just a few clicks from the offer email. If you don’t have a card on file, you can add one during your first order. Your personal financial information is protected by Stripe.

Chris MacLean

Rob Genova

Open Tuesday Wines S.r.l.s.

Via Augusto Anfossi 19, 20135 Milano - Italyhttps://www.opentuesdaywines.com/request/1109