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Siciliy and Wine
It began in early summer.
She was an Illinois importer whose Sicily portfolio was leaving her. I was a wine buyer in Chicago. She had one last case in her inventory. I added it to my cellar. And glass by glass, bottle by bottle, what began as a fling, turned into a love affair.
Three-thousand years ago, the Greeks colonized Sicily, introducing their ways of growing grapes and making wine to the east side of the island. The quality of Sicily’s wines cast a spell on the Greeks. They called the island Oenotria, “the land of vines.”
Sicily has a breadth of history and climates and landscapes, as well as over 65 indigenous wine grapes. For most of its contemporary history, the farmers of Sicily opted for higher yields, which turned the island into a bulk wine producer. But for the past half-century, improving viticulture and viniculture has made Sicily one of the most exciting wine regions in the world.
Sicilia DOC
Sicily has 23 Denominazioni di Origine Controllata (DOC) and one Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). (Denominazione di Origine Controllata and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita are the highest classifications of wines in the Italian government system which serves to protect the quality and authenticity of Italian wines.) The island can be divided into four geographical wine regions: Sicilia DOC, Etna DOC, Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, and Marsala DOC. The Sicilia DOC wines, as well as those of the Terre Siciliane IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica, which are quality wines that don't meet the Italian government standards for DOC or DOCG classification) are commonly made from the primary red wine grape of the island, nero d’avola, which offers dark, brambly fruit and spice, with medium to full body and juicy acidity.
Etna DOC
The climate of the Etna wine region is distinctive in all of Sicily. Etna is cool and sunny but receives twice as much rainfall as any other region on the island. Its primary red grape is nerello mascalese, which thrives in the volcanic soils of Mount Etna. At warmer, lower altitudes, nerello mascalese yields burly, tannic wines. At higher, cooler altitudes, the acidity of nerello mascalese rises, its body becomes lithe, its complexion turns ethereal. Nerello mascalese is often mixed with nerello cappuccio, a rustic, spicy grape. Carricante is the primary grape in Etna’s white wines, which are commonly classified as Etna Bianco. These wines display aromas and flavors of citrus, anise, and honey, with rich veins of saline through and through.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG
The elevation of Cerasuolo di Vittoria in the southeast of Sicily is lower and its temperatures higher than the Etna region in the northeast. The appellation of Cerasuolo di Vittoria refers to a red wine made up of nero d’avola and frappato. Nero d’avola brings color, structure, and depth to the wine, while frappato offers aroma, freshness, and finesse. Cerasuolo means cherry, and Cerasuolo di Vittoria is lush with cherry, licorice, and tobacco. There are two quality categories of Cerasuolo di Vittoria: rosso and classico. Rosso has to be aged a minimum of eight months, while classico has to be aged a minimum of 18 months.
Marsala DOC
The city of Marsala is located in the wine region of Marsala in the southwest corner of Sicily, where the primary grapes include insolia, catarratto, and grillo. Marsala wine is made like Sherry, using a system called solera. Like Sherry, Marsala can be dry or sweet. Like Sherry, Marsala has age-related categories, which are fine (one year); superiore (two years); superiore riserva (four years); vergine or solera (five years); and vergine stravecchio or vergine reserva (ten years). Color and residual sugar are also noted on the bottle. Colors are identified as oro (gold), ambra (amber), and rubino (ruby). Residual sugar categories are secco (dry), semisecco (semisweet), and dolce (sweet).
If you’re looking for a summer fling, don’t go looking in Sicily. You’re going to fall in love.
