If this world has a matriarch, it is Arianna Occhipinti, although that’s hardly the word to describe her. Ms. Occhipinti, who started her biodynamic vineyard in southeastern Sicily in 2010, is 33 years old with a tangle of thick black hair, Mediterranean skin and big brown eyes — more Venus than Juno.
Occhipinti is one of the largest producers of biodynamic wine (over 120,000 bottles annually), and it was among the first to be recognized by critics as high-quality wine.
I met Ms. Occhipinti in the courtyard of her winery, not far from the historic city of Ragusa. We sat on wicker chairs surrounded by olive trees and lavender plants and sipped glasses of the Occhipinti Nero d’Avola, a lightly tannic red wine with what wine people call generous fruit.
Vini di Sicilia 