In 1824, Corvo became the first Sicilian wine to be bottled,
labeled, and commercialized. The
creator, Giuseppe Alliata, made both a red Corvo and a white one. Corvo survived the Risorgimento, the phylloxera
epidemic, two world wars, and the Great Depression and subsequent ones to finally
reach the shores of the USA in 1972. It became
a very successful US wine brand. It was
low cost and simple. Today Corvo is less
popular than it once was, but I don’t see why.
Recently I tried a 2012 Corvo white, an Insolia varietal wine, and a
2010 Corvo red, a Nero D’Avola. Both
wines cost slightly less to slightly more than ten dollars depending on where
you buy. The white Corvo showed a classic
banana-pear cold fermented bouquet and was light, tart, and slightly
effervescent on the palate. The red
Corvo had a vivid cherry and tar bouquet and was pleasantly sour and bitter in
the mouth. Both wines are light and refreshing enough to
tempt refills.
