In the very south of Italy, we can find the island of Sicily. An island with a very rich cultural history and that once was a stopover from the old civilization of Greece towards the rest of Europe. Winemaking on this island has got to be as old as mankind itself!
The terroir is mainly dictated by the presence of the Etna, one of the most still active volcanos in Europe, and maybe the whole world. The soil will contain notes of flint, to be found in almost every wine produced here. We can find a true mediterranean climate with mild winters and long hot summers. Sometimes the grapes do suffer from the heat, so irrigation will be necessary. The mountainous regions land inwards tend to be cooler and mere wet, perfect for the grapes to retain some of their natural acidity.
The grapes will develop aromas, apart from flint, of richer exotic fruit characters, usually with a touch of sea salt as well. Looking at the white varieties, we can find aromas like yellow apple, pear, melon and even some pineapple, but always in good balance with the minerality notes. Red varieties will display ripe notes of black cherry, spiced plums, but also some leather, liquorice and often dried mediterranean herbs. All depending on the grape variety of course. Calabrese or Nero d’Avola will have a fuller body than Frappato or Nerello Mascalese. Apart from these three, we will find a lot of plantings of the local Pignatello and Perricone grapes and the international Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
For the white varieties Grillo is the mostly planted, followed by Inzolia, Cataratto, Grecanico, Zibbibo (Muscat), Carricante and Chardonnay,
The island is as big as the country of Belgium and is the biggest island of the Mediterranean. Sicily does produces lots of bulk wine but can get divided into 23 different DOC’s and 1 DOCG. The DOC that covers the entire island, along with the variety of grapes is the DOC Sicilia. We can divide the island further into three sub-regions, or valleys with their own DOC’s however, these are not official sub- regions.
- Val Demone
- Val di Noto
- Val di Mazara
Val Demone is found in the northeastern part of the Island and features the cities of Catania and Taormina, including the volcano the Etna and the Aeolian Islands with following DOC’s:
- DOC Etna
- DOC Faro
- DOC Malvasia delle Lipari
- DOC Marmertino di Millazo
Val di Noto is then found in the southeastern part with the beautiful Greek city of Syracuse, that was once voted the most beautiful city in the world during ancient times. In this part we find the only DOCG and following DOC’s:
- DOCG Cerasuolo di Vittoria
- DOC Vittoria
- DOC Eloro
- DOC Riesi
- DOC Noto
- DOC Siracusa
Val di Mazare covers the rest of the western part of the island, featuring the ever-surprising city of Palermo, the church and monastery of Monreale, the fishing town of Marsala, the Sicani mountains, the Aegadian islands and the island of Pantellaria.
- DOC Erice
- DOC Marsala
- DOC Monreale
- DOC Alcamo
- DOC Conte di Sclafani
- DOC Contessa Entellina
- DOC Delia Nivolelli
- DOC Menfi
- DOC Salaparuta
- DOC Santa Margherita di Belice
- DOC Sciacca
- DOC Sambuca di Sicilia
- DOC Moscato di Pantellaria
All these beautiful wines can of course be matched with several just as beautiful Sicilian dishes! The Pasta con Sarde can match perfectly with a richer Grillo or Chardonnay and even an elegant Nerello Mascalese. The Nerello or even the Cerasuolo works seamlessly with a tuna steak and a crunch of pistachio. Thinking of lamb or Farsumagru with veal, you can grab that bottle of Nero d’Avola. Reaching up to the dessert part or a cheese platter with blue and hard cheese, the different styles of the Marsala will surprise you with their gastronomical possibilities every time!
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