The wines of Sicily have long had a bad reputation. Cut off from the rest of Italy with a distinctive culture all its own, Sicily is better known for its mobsters than its wine. Despite a long history of winemaking in the region, and a climate conducive to the cultivation of wine grapes, in modern times it has produced mostly generic bulk wine for sale on the global market.
Today thanks to ample sunshine, varied soil types, especially the volcanic soils, serious investment in new technologies, and most importantly a commitment to quality, Sicily’s reputation is getting an upgrade. There are some very interesting indigenous grapes grown in Sicily; and the wines made from them are affordable and distinctive. Here are 4 worth checking out:
La Vigne di Eli Etna Rosso Nerello Mascalese 2013
Almost unheard off outside Sicily, this grape is likely the result of crossing Sangiovese with another grape. The grapes for this wine were grown 2000 ft. up the northern slope of Mt. Etna in volcanic soil. Very fresh and elegant, medium body with red fruit and some lovely earth and floral notes, this reminds me of a young Barolo without the grippy tannins. An intriguing wine and varietal. Highly recommended, especially if you’re into lesser-known varietals with great promise. Score: 90 Price: $25
Tenuta Rapitale Campo Reale Nero d’Avola 2013
An absolute steal at this price. A silky, medium body with black fruit and savory green olive notes, a spice box with bracing acidity and mild tannins. Score: 88 Price: $11
Regaleali Nero d Avola 2011
A simple food wine with dark berries, some pepper and ample bitter herbs. Rustic and tough but with plenty of flavor, quintessentially Sicilian. Score: 85 Price: $12
Planeta La Segreta Bianco 2013
The only white wine here is another great bargain. A blend of Grecanico, Chardonnay, Viognier and Fiano, this has lots of peach and citrus on the nose. Medium body with loads of flinty minerality, this will complement any seafood dish. Planeta is one of the leaders of the quality revolution in Sicily with a production of over 2 million bottles per year. Score: 88 Price: $9
This video featuring Sicilian folk music from Arany Zoltán will make you want to catch the next flight to Palermo:
Dwight: I enjoyed your little blurb on Sicilian wines. You rightly point out that the island has historically been the ugly step-child of Italian wine regions. Outside of cooking wine (Marsala) and high-octane bulk wines sold to the mainland, Sicilia was totally insignificant in terms of viticulture. Olive oil, lemons, capers, eggplant and swordfish captured the limelight. Obviously, things are very different now–the quality and range of unique Sicilian wines over the past 25 years has been a small revolution. The four wines you mention illustrate this very point, especially the wines from Planeta, which has a solid reputation among wine aficionados in Italy and the US. If I may, I would mention two other spectacular gems: 1) Cerasuolo di Vittoria–a distinctive, world-class DOCG wine which blends Nero d’Avola and Frappato (my favorite S.Italian wine) and many rare wines produced by Donnafugata with native Italian grapes. If this remarkable progress continues for the next 10 years or so, perhaps we will all be able to wax poetic about Sicilian wine without one mention of the mafia and mobsters. (just as we now mention Rioja without allusions to General Franco or discuss Riesling without making associations with Hitler and the Third Reich.) And, keep in mind, before glorification of the Mafia and the subsequent stigmatizing of Sicily via these ruthless gangsters, the western coast of Italy was populated by our Greek friends like Plato and Pythagoras–philosophy’s version of the mafia!