THE HOMEGROWN GLORY OF SICILY’S WINES
Sicily may be an island, but in wine terms it’s a continent.
I have been to few other places where I have tasted such an array of styles. What I like most about Sicily is that, despite having such an incredible diversity of terroirs that can grow such a wide range of grapes, the vast majority of the production is centred on indigenous varieties.
Looking at a list of everything that’s grown on the island, you can find almost every main grape grown in Italy, along with many international varieties. Sicilian producers can do this so well because of the diversity of climates and soils.
On my recent trip to Sicily, I was impressed by not only the quality of the wines, but the price points. At the SAQ, of the 136 listed, 60 are under $20.
Many associate Sicily with red wine, but the majority of the production is white. The main grapes are hardly household names: grillo, catarratto, grecanico, inzolia, zibibbo (muscat), carricante. While Sicily is relatively hot, most of these grapes produce very fresh wines.
Grillo was my biggest discovery. It once was almost exclusively used to make the fortified wines of Marsala, but wineries are coming to understand that it could be a flag ship grape for the island. It’s a cross between inzolia and zibibbo, created 150 years ago. The wines have a very Sancerre feel to them, but with greater aromatic complexity, showing not only citrus notes like lemons and limes, but fruits like mango and apricot.
The other white grape I found truly exceptional was carricante. Grown on the volcanic soils of Etna, it produces very classy and mineral whites that age excep- tionally well. In the universe of white wine, they are unique. I didn’t try a single Etna bianco that I didn’t like.
When it comes to reds, a number of wineries are using international varieties, and with great success. Cusumano and Spadafora’s syrahs are two great examples I tasted.
The main indigenous red grapes are nero d’avola and nerello mascalese. They couldn’t be more different in style.
Nero d’avola is the workhorse and can be found nearly everywhere in Sicily. For the most part, it produces powerful red wines. Dark-fruited, peppery and with rustic tannins, it reminds me of Montepulciano. However, there are some very refined examples that show what this grape can do.
When it’s blended with the very aromatic frappato grape in the appellation of Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the result is a delicious, refined and fruit-driven wine. Beaujolais with torque might be a good comparison. When it comes to standing on its own, I tasted several wines that were truly extraordinary: Donnafugata’s Mille e una Notte, Planeta’s Santa Cecilia and Spadafora’s nero d’avola.
Nerello mascalese is the jewel of Sicily’s red wines. The majority is grown on the slopes of Mount Etna. I heard many winemakers say it’s Sicily’s pinot noir or nebbiolo, and its sensuous aromatics, nuanced fruit, razorthin tannins and ability to age gracefully speak to its greatness.
You can hear Bill Zacharkiw pair wine with rock on CHOM-FM (97.7) Fridays at 7:45 a.m. twitter.com/BillZacharkiwfacebook.com/ billzacharkiwwine