Avide winery dominates an ancient landscape, a land characterised by labyrinthine geometric low dry-stone walls, artistic in their natural design and often in the shadow of carob-trees. All around, in the Comiso area, the Iblean upland stands out with its steep and rustic slopes, its caves, its farms and brushwood . The carob-tree is the distinguishing mark of the territory where the Route of Nero d'Avola and of Cerasuolo di Vittoria wedges in. This is an inspiring itinerary that at a certain point meets Avide winery, established more than a hundred years ago in the midst of stamps and notarial acts, as a result of the Demostene and Calcaterra families' work and passion.
Avide's journey into wine-making started almost by chance as it was only a hobby for a long time: a few peasants taking care of vineyards and after the harvest making a wine, full-bodied and intriguing, that, as tradition tells, was also appreciated by Francis II, King of the Sicilies when the Bourbon regime had not been swept away by the revolutionary wave and by the proclamation of the Reign of Italy yet.Then, little by little, something began changing, perseverance and passion started to pay off: over the years the grapevine's quality improved and the wines produced acquired a more harmonious and pleasant taste.
Today, Giovanni Calcaterra is the chief wine master. He is personally involved in the study of new strategies: wine-making and marketing. To run the winery means to taste the wine as it matures in the bottles, to grow and improve the grape, and to taste the wine periodically so as to highlight its qualities and defects. For these reasons, Calcaterra chooses carefully the grape varieties that suit the land and the weather. He models the vineyard and the system of cultivation, and he follows, personally fruit ripening, wine-making and refinement.
Wines: over the years Avide products have reached success on an international level. What seemed a mere hobby has become a thoroughly professional business. The marketing in grand style of the winery actually began in 1984 when the society , located in Mortilla district, from a capacity of 400 hectolitres of the seventies passed to that of 10000 hectolitres. It was just in that period that Casmeneo the first bottled wine marked Avide came to light. The original label of it was signed by a famous painter: it was Salvatore Fiume himself, in fact, who conceived the sketch that eventually was imprinted on all the bottles destined to sales.
In the eighties it continued to develop with Cerasuolo di Vittoria golden award (1985), followed close by Herea (1988), Barocco (1989), Cerasuolo di Vittoria black award (1991), Vigne d'Oro ( 1992) and finally Sigillo in the year 2000.And this year there's a great new product that will be officially presented during the Vinitaly in Verona: the Comisan winery, in fact, will propose Tre Carati, a Nero d'Avola as regards purity, fruit of the 2000 harvest.About 7000 bottles with the new label will be marketed: the product name, once again, is linked to the old tradition of the Demostene and Calcaterra families. Tre Carati is in fact the reserve that for years the owners of the winery have been preserving for the family use. But this year Avide has decided to share this exclusive pleasure with a narrow number of wine lovers and experts.