Two sisters born and grown in a wonderful Italian Region, Sicily, and a century-old tradition of love for wine that has been handed down from mother to daughter.
The story of this Sicilian winery has its roots in the early 20th century when Dora, great-grandmother of the current owners, decided to buy 130 hectares of vineyards in the Natural Reserve of Lake Preola and Gorghi Tondi, in Mazara del Vallo and fell in love with this enchanted place where the vine touches gently the sea and marries magically with the surrounding nature. The nature that surrounds the vineyards, and in particular one of the lakes, gives the name to the winery. Anna and Clara Sale, Doras great-grandchildren, decided to found in 2005 a winery under the name Gorghi Tondi, choosing to produce independently wine from grapes that in the previous years were given to other wineries, thus giving full identity to the passion for wine and the determination that before them had characterized the great-grandmother.

When was Gorghi Tondi born?
Annamaria: The first bottle with the label Gorghi Tondi dates back to 2005, so it is fairly recent. But our family has been producing wine for at least a century in Marsala area. My sister and I inherited the passion for wine from “nonna Dora”, our great-grandmother. This attitude was handed down from generation to generation.

Clara: 20 years ago, my sister and I decided to cut a space for our ideas in the family business. So we founded the winery Gorghi Tondi. We had a clear vision of what we wanted from wine, we had wonderful vineyards in a beautiful natural place, and the passion for wine gave us the courage of following our instinct.

Whats your vision?
C: Making quality wines enhancing our Sicily, our corner of Paradise, our oasis away from the hustle and bustle. Our estate is located a few kilometers from Mazara del Vallo, in the far west of Sicily, right by the sea.

AM: Our vineyard is located within a natural reserve. We cultivate grapes of excellence in the utmost respect for nature, in harmony with the territory and fauna that surround our vineyards. We use clean energy, excluding any harmful practice for the preservation of biodiversity. The vineyard is perfectly situated within the natural reserve of the lakes Preola and Gorghi Tondi, WWF site since 1998.
For this reason we are certified organic since the beginning of this year. All the wines of the vintage 2016 will have the certificate of organic wines on the bottle.

What is the wine of your selection that represents you the most?
C: For me the Kheir, the most important Grillo we produce. It is also our welcome wine, given that in greek it means “welcome”. It is a wine with an intense and persistent aroma, with notes of almond tree in bloom and sea breeze. Harmonic taste, this wine is soft, but it has all the character of the sea, with a saline touch on the finish.

AM: I am the opposite of my sister. In fact we love to define us “two sides of the same coin”, but complementary opposites. I choose the Sagreante, a full-bodied and complex red Sirah. Segreante is a heraldic term meaning “rampant” and refers both to the figure of a griffon imprinted on the emblem of our family and the personality of this wine.

If you had to describe your winery in a few words to a foreign consumer…
C: Respect for tradition with a modern heart. This concept is also represented by our decision to build our winery as an ancient Sicilian bathroom, respecting the architecture of traditional places. This space, however, was filled with everything that can be modern in terms of technology, starting from the vats to the computerized management of refinement of the wine.
AM: Technology, quality and radiance

Those who drink your wines can feel
AM: Those who drink our wines can feel and taste the sea, the minerality.
C: I love to say that you feel the grapes. Because to make a good wine, it is necessary to have excellent grapes and to make excellent grapes many investments are needed in the vineyard. We love to care it as if it was a child.