Sicily
The Mediterranean's largest island, with a volcano at its heart.
Sicily has made wine since ancient Greek settlers arrived more than 2,500 years ago, and for much of the 20th century it shipped bulk wine to strengthen blends on the mainland and in France. The modern story is quality. Nero d'Avola became the island's calling card for generous reds, and Mount Etna — one of Europe's tallest active volcanoes — turned into one of the most exciting places in Italy. There, vines grow on black volcanic soils up to about 1,100 metres, some of them ungrafted and more than a century old, making pale, perfumed Nerello Mascalese and taut whites from Carricante. The west of the island is home to Marsala, the fortified wine popularised by English merchants in the late 18th century.
Grapes grown here 6
What the region makes
Black cherry and plum: generous and sun-warmed.
Nerello Mascalese from the volcano: red cherry, ash, firm tannin and high acidity.
Carricante-based whites, taut and saline.
Nero d'Avola with Frappato: bright, cherried and fresh.
Fortified wine from the west of the island, from dry to sweet.
Worth knowing
Some Etna vines survived phylloxera on their own roots, because the aphid struggles to move through loose volcanic sand.
Marsala owes its fame to an English merchant who came across the wine in 1773 and went on to build an export trade around it.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria is Sicily's only DOCG, the top tier of Italian wine law.
Try this region if you like warm, generous reds — or fresh, volcanic ones.
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