Passito di Pantelleria

"The Black Pearl of the Mediterranean” was created from the eruption of a large submerged volcano.
Located in the sea between Sicily and Tunisia, Pantelleria fascinates us for the variety of its landscapes: rugged hills, lava stone reefs, cliffs, sea stacks surrounded by deep blue sea.
The Alberello Pantesco grows among the sequence of manmade and natural sceneries, such as dammusi (typical local houses), dry stone walls, capers and prickly pears, the image of an ancient viticulture elected “Unesco Heritage”.

The Arabs called Pantelleria “daughter of the wind” for the winds that constantly blow on the island. For this reason, the vegetation on the island has adapted to the climate conditions by mutating its structure for self-preservation. In fact, the Alberello Pantesco sprouts and grows in dips that are 20 centimetres deep in the soil, which allow its survival and protection from the wind. Furthermore, the vine grows on itself making it possible to collect all the morning dew and each drop becomes a source of nutrition for the plant, which is exposed to high temperatures during the day. Even the small amount of rainwater, collected in the dip, will be drained by the volcanic and sandy soil so that not even one drop is lost. The sapling roots are exceptionally deep, allowing from a constant absorption of water, nutrients and mineral salts. 
The Zibibbo grapes are a result of these microclimatic conditions and of this ingenious and sustainable agricultural technique. It isn’t only the economic factor to be invested by this work that is passed on over centuries, but also the social significance, which symbolizes the identity and culture of the islanders. 
In November 2014, Unesco recognized the cultural and natural value of the “alberello-trained vine agricultural technique” electing it World Heritage Site in order to preserve it for future generations. 

An elegant flower that grows in the volcanic soils of Pantelleria: it’s Serapias, a unique orchid that blossoms in two hectares on the foot of Montagna Grande.
It can’t be found anywhere else but there, it only grows there, in the windy island at the centre of the Mediterranean.
It shares the peace of those remote places with wildflowers, helichrysum rupestre and capers. Its pink petals with purple veining shine with bright beauty and mysterious charm.
Its scent, carried by the sea breezes, mixing in the hills with the inebriating hints of the ripe Zibibbo, as the flower it also exclusively grows on the island, which expresses the strength of the land, of the sun and of the mineral energy that provide it with graciousness and refined elegance.
The illustration by Nancy Rossit visually describes the expression of the beauty and brightness of the orchids with an antique pink colour and violet veining.