Sicily
The Italian region with the most land area, post-1980s revitalised for quality: mainstay nero d'Avola makes intensely black, concentrated reds; high, cold Mt. Etna gives snappy carricante whites and pale, bitter nerello reds; plus the dessert legends moscato passito di Pantelleria, malvasia delle Lipari and fortified Marsala.
About the region
Sicily, the Mediterranean island and Italian region with the most land area, is one of the country's top regions by volume. Famous for its wines in antiquity, it spent much of the twentieth century infamous for ultra-cheap vino da tavola, until a quality-oriented mini-revolution in the 1970s-80s. Today more fascinating wines — white and red — are made than ever. Sicily's mainstay red is nero d'Avola (also called Calabrese), a high-quality variety making intensely black-coloured, concentrated reds of real depth, juiciness and charm, and increasingly of surprising complexity and richness. A separate zone generating excitement is Mt. Etna, whose chilly, high-altitude, black-lava terroir suits snappy whites (riesling and the local, minerally carricante) and pale but ferociously dry, bitter reds from nerello Mascalese and nerello cappuccio. The local white grillo makes dry, racy, peppery whites. Sicily is also home to two dried-grape (passito) dessert wines — moscato passito di Pantelleria (from zibibbo/muscat of Alexandria) and malvasia delle Lipari — and to the historic fortified Marsala (grillo, catarratto, inzolia), which at vergine/vergine stravecchio level is often likened to aged tawny Ports and oloroso Sherries.
Within Sicily
Etna
Etna's active volcano provides mineral-rich basalt soils and high-altitude diurnal temperature swings. Nerello Mascalese dominates red production; Carricante leads whites. Old ungrafted bush vines, some pre-phylloxera, define the appellation.
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