A taste of Sicily in a dozen great wines
Sicily is one of my favourite destinations in Italy for scenery and culture, but only now am I starting to enjoy its wines.
For years Sicily was just a big bulk producer sending wine up to the chillier north for blending and the wines served in its own tavernas were rustic reds and inelegant whites.
One of the first pioneers to focus on quality wines in 1985 was the Planeta family, who make some of the best wines on the island from both classic French grapes and indigenous varieties. Today they have been joined by numerous renowned oenologists like the gifted natural winemaker Belgian Frank Cornelissen and the well-travelled Peter Vinding Diers, both attracted to Sicily’s volcanic terroir, particularly to the slopes of its most famous active volcano Mount Etna.
Sicily has huge tracts of vineyards – at 120,000 hectares it is similar in size to Chile and grows just less than Australia – which is phenomenal for this size of island. Terroirs are very diverse from high altitude Etna to the south coast around Syracuse to the windswept island of Pantelleria.
For whites, my favourite grape in Sicily is grillo – an ancient variety with floral notes and sweetness inherited from its muscat parentage.
The most characterful complex reds are made from the fascinating nerello mascalese grape which grows on Mount Etna’s slopes.
White Sursur Grillo 2018 Donnafugato
Unoaked fresh grillo smelling of freshly mown meadows. It has such an attractive peachy, lemon-lime flavour with herby undertones.
£14.99, Valvona & Crolla
Grillo Luma 2018 Fantini
This enchanting grillo is typical of Sicilian whites with its rich full-bodied palate and vibrant freshness. A good match smoked fish, mackerel or light risotto. £12.99, Valvona & Crolla
Zibibbo Vitese 2018 Colomba Bianca
Zibibbo is the Sicilian name for muscat. Popular with our tasters who loved its uplifting aromas and textural minerally palate. This organic zibibbo is made by the dynamic co-operative Colomba Bianca. £11.69, Valvona & Crolla
Nostru Carricante Organic 2017
Loved the fresh, natural acidity and distinctly minerally notes which underlie this very ripe fleshy white. Carricante is a tricky grape to get right as it produces a prodigious number of grapes, so it needs strict pruning.
£11.50-£12.95, Slurp; Jeroboams; Saxty’s Wine; Ricardos Cellar
Red
Nero d’avola 2018
Aldi’s organic version of this grape gives so much ripe fruit and spice for your money. Our tasters loved its liquorice undertones – although some commented it was quite sweet.
£5.99, Aldi
Nero d’avola La Ferla 2017 Canicatti
Unoaked, sweetly fruited, spicy, sumptuous example of this grape – and a very good example under £8. La Ferla refers to the fennel flower which flourishes alongside nero d’avola on the island.
£7.25, The Wine Society
Nostru Nerello Mascalese 2017
Bright, vibrant, fruity, unoaked smooth and soft example of this fascinating grape. Grown at 400 metres altitude it has retained enough acidity to balance with the rich baked fruits and spicy notes. £11.50-£12.95, Slurp; Jeroboams; Saxty’s Wine; Ricardos Cellar
Nero Oro Appassimento 2017
Another popular big bold red with cherry and blackcurrant notes, lusciously ripe, tasting a bit like a full robust malbec and sweet spicy shiraz. Plenty of colour and fruit for your money.
£9.99, Majestic Wine
Nerello Mascalese Micina 2018 Fantini
A meaty, earthy version of this grape. Tasters loved its savoury balsamic and liquorice notes, its gentle tannins and hints of vanilla and burnt earth. Nerello mascalese has a similar tannic structure to nebbiolo and is also capable of ageing. £16.59, Valvona & Crolla
Nero d’avola 2018 Mandarossa
Damson and sweet chocolate notes in this rich plummy and savoury red – it has typical warm baked fruits and a very ripe core of fruit – but is well-structured with vanilla flavours.
£10.99, Valvona & Crolla; Great Western Wine
Sito Dell’ulmo Merlot 2013 Planeta
From renowned Planeta, one of the pioneering families of Sicilian wine. They focus on classic French grapes and this single vineyard merlot is one of my favourites from their range with some maturity. Very elegant for Sicily. £28.50, Great Western Wine
Il Piccolo Monte Carrubo 2017
An unusual wine for Sicily. It is made from 100 per cent syrah by a Danish winemaker Peter Vinding Diers who has worked across Europe and is now exploring the soils of Sicily. Il Piccolo is his second wine showing the minerality of Sicily’s volcanic terroir with lovely spice and pepper aromas and ripe, smooth flavours. n
£28.50, www.swig.co.uk