Honour your way this Mother’s Day at RAFI. Find out more >

The RAFI Drop: Occhipinti Winery

Meet The Maker: Occhipinti Winery

Discover the passion and craftsmanship behind this months RAFI Drop: 2021 Occhipinti ‘SP68’ Nero d’Avola/Frappato, Sicily, ITA

At RAFI this July, we invite you to embark on a sensory journey as we delve into the world of premium wines and introduce you to the remarkable winemakers behind this month’s RAFI Drop.

Arianna Occhipinti is a winemaker from Vittoria, Italy. She showcases her personality and passion towards producing exceptional wines, through the respect she gives to not only the land, the vineyard, the fermentation, but to the wine itself. She believes that a wine that, in its harmonies and roughness, talks about the land where it comes from and also about me.

Scroll down to find out more about the Arianna, the winery and discover the unbeatable flavours of this months RAFI Drop.

Join us at RAFI from Monday 26th June – Saturday 29th July between 4pm – 6pm, to experience this wine at a reduced price as part of The RAFI Drop! This wine is also on our wine menu to order when dining with us.

About The Winemaker

Arianna Occhipinti is an Italian wine maker and winery owner in Vittoria, Italy. She started tending two hectares of vines on her parents estate in her university days, where she was dismayed by the emphasis on chemistry and laboratory work. Leaning on the knowledge of her uncle, Giusto Occhipinti, Arianna has since grown to prefer the natural approach to winemaking.

Her vines are largely devoted to the staples of the zone in Frappato and Nero d’Avola, where she farms organically and makes wine in a non-interventionist manner – long macerations, no additions, neutral oak/concrete, limited sulphur and only at bottling – are central to the approach

About The Winery

Everything begun nineteen years ago in the ”Fossa di Lupo” area. A place where the land in the evening becomes redish and is brushed by the Ibleian winds and leans on one side of a road: the County Road 68.

The stable of wines produced includes SP 68 Rosso, Bianco, her Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico “Grotte Alte”, a “basic” Frappato, and her Siccagno which is a Nero d’Avola and comes from two other vineyards, Bombolieri and Fossa di Lupo.

Over the years Arianna has noted that her plots traverse two main soil types – limestone and sand – and that this also translates into distinct profiles. The former giving her energy and depth and the latter giving more aromatics and finesse.

About The RAFI Drop

2021 Occhipinti ‘SP68’ Nero d’Avola/Frappato, Sicily, ITA

SP68 Rosso, is a young wine, which is a blend of two varieties native to this part of Sicily: Frappato 70% and Nero D’Avola 30%. Cool and pleasant, with a delicate taste that it brings the flavour of the sun and the freshness of this land. The title ‘SP68’ refers to the Strada Provinciale 68, a state route that passes by Arianna’s rural property.

Occhipinti introduces very little, if any, sulfur in the wine, uses no filtration, and follows an extremely simple vinification process, wild fermentations from native airborne yeasts, 30 days maceration on skin and six month of ageing in cement tanks.

To discover more about Occhipinti Winery visit their website or follow them on socials to learn from the experts and stay up to date on new vintages.