Agricola Azienda Kalma ‘Via del Mare’ Bianco 2023
Location: Italy, Sicily
Winemaker: Nikolas Resin & Waiata May Kalma-de Jong
Grapes: Grillo (This cuvée is made of purchased grapes from a friend in Marsala, in the province of Trapani.)
Soil: Limestone, sand
Winemaking: Certified Organic, but prefer to label of regenerative agriculture. Hand harvest. Two-thirds of the Grillo are direct pressed and fermented in old barrels, while the remaining undergoes ten days of skin contact in demijohns. Aged in old tonneaux/demijohn. No fining or filtering. Minimal sulfur added.
From the Importer Super Glou: A German and a Kiwi walk into a cellar… wait, is that how that one goes?
Meet Nikolas and Waiata, two non-Italians making wine in Sicily—with some serious experience under their belts. Nikolas, originally from Germany, has been something of a globetrotter, making wine in Germany, South Africa, Chianti, Priorat, and later Sicily, where he became the manager of COS Winery, led by Giusto Occhipinti in Vittoria. It’s here that he and Waiata met, during her own tenure there. Waiata, originally from New Zealand, lived in Montpellier, France, in her teenage years and later worked as a sommelier in Melbourne and Paris before catching the winemaking bug.
The two fell in love in Sicily and continued their nomadic ways, spending two years with Domaine Matassa in Calce, followed by a stint at Kindeli Winery in Nelson, New Zealand. Sicily’s siren song soon called them back, and they returned in 2022 to buy a small vineyard (~3.8 hectares) that was for sale, perched on the hilltop of Chiaramonte Gulfi — the so-called “Balcony of Sicily” — surrounded by olive and citrus trees.
It’s a bit of an odd coupling: two nomads and a wine region that boasts a reputation for tradition and legacy. However, the expat lens Nik and Waiata bring to their land focuses years upon years of worldly wisdom, allowing them to capture the terroir from a new and fascinating angle. These are wines teeming with energy, almost dreamlike in their expression.
It would be hard to guess Nik and Waita’s elite winemaking pedigree just from speaking with them; they are the epitome of humble, gentle and kind. There is a real softness to the way they carry themselves—a quiet confidence full of intention, as hypnotic as the wines they bottle. They’re the kind of people who contain multitudes, yet with many stories still to tell in the canon of contemporary Sicily.
Location: Italy, Sicily
Winemaker: Nikolas Resin & Waiata May Kalma-de Jong
Grapes: Grillo (This cuvée is made of purchased grapes from a friend in Marsala, in the province of Trapani.)
Soil: Limestone, sand
Winemaking: Certified Organic, but prefer to label of regenerative agriculture. Hand harvest. Two-thirds of the Grillo are direct pressed and fermented in old barrels, while the remaining undergoes ten days of skin contact in demijohns. Aged in old tonneaux/demijohn. No fining or filtering. Minimal sulfur added.
From the Importer Super Glou: A German and a Kiwi walk into a cellar… wait, is that how that one goes?
Meet Nikolas and Waiata, two non-Italians making wine in Sicily—with some serious experience under their belts. Nikolas, originally from Germany, has been something of a globetrotter, making wine in Germany, South Africa, Chianti, Priorat, and later Sicily, where he became the manager of COS Winery, led by Giusto Occhipinti in Vittoria. It’s here that he and Waiata met, during her own tenure there. Waiata, originally from New Zealand, lived in Montpellier, France, in her teenage years and later worked as a sommelier in Melbourne and Paris before catching the winemaking bug.
The two fell in love in Sicily and continued their nomadic ways, spending two years with Domaine Matassa in Calce, followed by a stint at Kindeli Winery in Nelson, New Zealand. Sicily’s siren song soon called them back, and they returned in 2022 to buy a small vineyard (~3.8 hectares) that was for sale, perched on the hilltop of Chiaramonte Gulfi — the so-called “Balcony of Sicily” — surrounded by olive and citrus trees.
It’s a bit of an odd coupling: two nomads and a wine region that boasts a reputation for tradition and legacy. However, the expat lens Nik and Waiata bring to their land focuses years upon years of worldly wisdom, allowing them to capture the terroir from a new and fascinating angle. These are wines teeming with energy, almost dreamlike in their expression.
It would be hard to guess Nik and Waita’s elite winemaking pedigree just from speaking with them; they are the epitome of humble, gentle and kind. There is a real softness to the way they carry themselves—a quiet confidence full of intention, as hypnotic as the wines they bottle. They’re the kind of people who contain multitudes, yet with many stories still to tell in the canon of contemporary Sicily.
Location: Italy, Sicily
Winemaker: Nikolas Resin & Waiata May Kalma-de Jong
Grapes: Grillo (This cuvée is made of purchased grapes from a friend in Marsala, in the province of Trapani.)
Soil: Limestone, sand
Winemaking: Certified Organic, but prefer to label of regenerative agriculture. Hand harvest. Two-thirds of the Grillo are direct pressed and fermented in old barrels, while the remaining undergoes ten days of skin contact in demijohns. Aged in old tonneaux/demijohn. No fining or filtering. Minimal sulfur added.
From the Importer Super Glou: A German and a Kiwi walk into a cellar… wait, is that how that one goes?
Meet Nikolas and Waiata, two non-Italians making wine in Sicily—with some serious experience under their belts. Nikolas, originally from Germany, has been something of a globetrotter, making wine in Germany, South Africa, Chianti, Priorat, and later Sicily, where he became the manager of COS Winery, led by Giusto Occhipinti in Vittoria. It’s here that he and Waiata met, during her own tenure there. Waiata, originally from New Zealand, lived in Montpellier, France, in her teenage years and later worked as a sommelier in Melbourne and Paris before catching the winemaking bug.
The two fell in love in Sicily and continued their nomadic ways, spending two years with Domaine Matassa in Calce, followed by a stint at Kindeli Winery in Nelson, New Zealand. Sicily’s siren song soon called them back, and they returned in 2022 to buy a small vineyard (~3.8 hectares) that was for sale, perched on the hilltop of Chiaramonte Gulfi — the so-called “Balcony of Sicily” — surrounded by olive and citrus trees.
It’s a bit of an odd coupling: two nomads and a wine region that boasts a reputation for tradition and legacy. However, the expat lens Nik and Waiata bring to their land focuses years upon years of worldly wisdom, allowing them to capture the terroir from a new and fascinating angle. These are wines teeming with energy, almost dreamlike in their expression.
It would be hard to guess Nik and Waita’s elite winemaking pedigree just from speaking with them; they are the epitome of humble, gentle and kind. There is a real softness to the way they carry themselves—a quiet confidence full of intention, as hypnotic as the wines they bottle. They’re the kind of people who contain multitudes, yet with many stories still to tell in the canon of contemporary Sicily.