Sicilian wine
According to legend, Dionysus (aka Bacchus) was the God who brought pleasure to mankind, and wine to Sicily. What is sure is that wine has been made in Sicily for many centuries. There is evidence that Mycenaean traders cultivated grapes in the Aeolian islands as early at 1,500 BC and it is certain the Greeks could not do without them when they settled in the 8th century BC and introduced several varieties after their arrival.
Today, wine is an integral part of the Sicilian diet. The local wine that most Sicilians drink with their meals is low on ceremony and presentation, but big on taste, authenticity and quality. Go into any trattoria in a small town and ask for "vino locale" to accompany your meal and you will taste a wine that is virtually unchanged for centuries. It is often high on alcohol (sometimes 15 or 16%, or even more), whites are amber and reds can be unconvincingly translucent, but don’t be put off by appearances, for these are the real thing (so to speak). If vino locale or succo d’uva ("grape juice" as the farmer claims to his wife) is the every day wine of history, Sicilian wine is not short on innovation either. As early as 1773, John Woodhouse was shipping his wine, made in Marsala from local grapes fortified with alcohol so as to endure the journey back to England. Today, a new generation of young Sicilian agriculturalists is combining the excellent growing conditions and indigenous grapes with modern wine making techniques and EU investment to produce some excellent wines. To mention any in particular on this page would be unfair to the rest, but you will see the labels in restaurants and shops all over Sicily, and a stay in any of our wineries will give an excellent insight (and lots of tasting!).
The following is a very quick guide to some of the wines you may taste during your travels in Sicily:
Many grapes types are grown, these are either used pure "in purezza", or blended. Some have been around for centuries, others are more recent imports. The following are some of the main varieties:
Red grapes: Nero D’Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Mantellato, Perricone, Frappato, Calabrese and the more recently introduced Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz.
White grapes: Cataratto, Grecanico, Grillo, Inzolia, Zibibbo, Damaschino, Trebbiano, Ausonica, Moscato Bianco, Corinto Nero and the more recently introduced Chardonnay.
Red wines:
Nero D’Avola or Shiraz "in purezza" (unblended): Nero D’Avola is one of the oldest indigenous grapes and Sicilian wine makers are justifiably proud of the recognition that this variety is now receiving. Anyone familiar with the southern hemisphere wines will have tasted plenty of Shiraz and the climate and soil of Sicily are particularly suited to this tasty grape.
Etna Rosso: a blend of Nerello Mascalese (95%) and Nerello Mantellato (5%) this is the wine born on the rich, fertile volcanic slopes of Etna.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria: a blend of Frappato (min 40%) and Calabrese (max 60%) with the possible addition of some Grossonero or Nerello Mascalese, this is the famous wine of the province of Ragusa.
White wines:
Bianco D’Alcamo: a blend of Cataratto (min 80%), Grecanico, Damaschino and Trebbiano, this excellent white can be found all over Sicily, but can only be produced in the rich area between Alcamo and Trapani.
Wines made from Grillo, Inzolia, Cataratto, Grecanico and Chardonnay are produced "in purezza" or blended together by all the big wine producers, and some are truly excellent.
Marsala:
The famous fortified wine first produced by the Englishman John Woodhouse in 1773 is a blend of Grillo, Cataratto, Ansonia and Damaschino with the addition of distilled alcohol. Though it has a reputation as a sweet wine, there are also some excellent dry aperitif varieties. Try chilled Marsala vergine or extra vergine from any of the big producers.
Desert or aperitif wines:
The sugar content of the grapes and the drying qualities of the sun mean that Sicily lends itself well to production of desert wines. The best known of these are:
Moscato Passito di Pantelleria, made from Zibbibo grapes which have been dried in the sun to increase the sugar concentration.
Malvasia delle Lipari, a blend of Malvasia (95%) and Corinto Nero (5%), first produced at Monemvasia ancient Laconia (Malmsey to Shakespeare in Loves Labours Lost), George, Duke of Clarence (brother of King Edward IV of England) was possibly executed by drowning in a "butt" of it. Malmsey was also well known to Nelson’s sailors (who allegedly drank a lot of it).
ThinkSicily properties that produce wine include La Foresteria - Planeta