The first wine at COS was still stomped with the feet. What began as a game was later turned into something serious. In the meantime, COS has become synonymous with the rebirth of the Vittoria area in Sicily and its exceptional wines.
– Giusto Occhipinti
Fine & Layered
COS is the acronym of the surnames of the three founders Giusto Occhipinti, Giambattista Cilia and Cirino Strano. When it was founded in 1980, they were the three youngest winemakers in Italy and filled just 1470 bottles. Today they run the 35 hectare winery with a total production of 200,000 bottles and work 100% according to biodynamic guidelines.
The south of Sicily is dominated by cool winds and the soils consist of sand, limestone and chalk. These factors noticeably influence the cultivation of certain crops in the area.
The native grape varieties cultivated are Nero d'Avola, Grecanico, Frappato, Insolia, Zibbibo and additionally some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The Pithos wines are fermented entirely on the skins in large terracotta amphorae, and only in the following early summer do they move to large wood or cement for further maturation.
The other wines from COS are fermented in concrete, with subsequent maturation in stainless steel or Slavonian oak. The wines are also aged in barrels and bottles for a few years longer than usual; a wine from COS is only available when it is halfway ready to drink.
