The iconic bottles that define Sicily: what they are, who makes them and what they cost.
The iconic bottles that define Sicily: what they are, who makes them and what they cost.
A single-vineyard Etna Bianco Superiore from Milo: pure Carricante from the Milo Superiore zone, first released from the 1990 vintage.
Tasting notes: Benchmark Etna Bianco Superiore from Milo on the east slope: crystalline volcanic mineral purity, piercing racy acidity, white peach and citrus blossom aromatics. Rewards 8-plus years in the cellar.
Pietradolce's prestige single-vineyard Etna Rosso from ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines at 850m, released from the 2012 vintage with notable bottle ageing potential.
Tasting notes: Pre-phylloxera ungrafted Nerello Mascalese from 850 metres altitude in the Barbagalli contrada: dark cherry, iron, smoked mineral and dried rose aromatics, pomegranate and graphite on the palate, very long taut mineral finish. Released from the 2012 vintage in small allocations.
A single-contrada Etna Rosso from old-vine Nerello Mascalese in Calderara Sottana on the north slope, Burgundian in structure and volcanic in soul, first produced in 2003.
Tasting notes: An early entry in the single-contrada Etna Rosso wave: Nerello Mascalese from vines planted 1920-1945 on the north slope, with Burgundian elegance, tart red-fruit purity, volcanic minerality and the structural firmness that demands long cellaring.
Graci's flagship single-contrada Etna Rosso from Arcuria on the north slope: precise, mineral and terroir-driven, establishing Graci as one of the Etna DOC's leading estates.
Tasting notes: Single-contrada Etna Rosso from the Arcuria plot on the north slope: taut red cherry, iron mineral, dried rose and tobacco aromatics with a long saline finish. Production limited to the best vintages from low-yielding ungrafted vines.
Sicily's only DOCG (Cerasuolo di Vittoria, granted 2005) in the COS bottling: biodynamically farmed Nero d'Avola and Frappato from Vittoria, produced by the estate since its 1980 founding.
Tasting notes: Sicily's only DOCG (granted 2005) in COS's bottling: 60% Nero d'Avola structure lifted by 40% Frappato's sour-cherry acidity and dried-violet fragrance, aged in large Slavonian oak, with an earthy-mineral finish from Vittoria clay-limestone soils.
Arianna Occhipinti's varietal Frappato, produced from organically farmed vines in Vittoria since the 2004 vintage: mineral, delicate, with bright raspberry and rose-hip aromatics.
Tasting notes: A varietal Frappato of pale ruby colour: delicate, chalk-mineral, fresh raspberry and rose-hip with notable tension for its light weight. Biodynamically farmed at Vittoria, aged in old chestnut and oak casks.
Tasca d'Almerita's Regaleali plateau estate red, produced continuously since 1970 from Nero d'Avola and Perricone, with over five decades of continuous bottling.
Tasting notes: Produced since 1970 at the Regaleali plateau: Nero d'Avola and nearly-extinct Perricone, aged two years in large Slavonian oak. Concentrated dried cherry, tobacco, iron mineral and very long finish. The Tasca family's structured age-worthy red has been bottled continuously for over five decades.
Donnafugata's flagship Sicilian Nero d'Avola blend from Contessa Entellina, first released from the 1997 vintage; widely exported through Donnafugata's international distribution.
Tasting notes: Donnafugata's prestige red from the Contessa Entellina estate: Nero d'Avola blended with Petit Verdot and Syrah, aged in small French oak barriques. Black cherry, blackcurrant, dark chocolate and cedar aromatics with concentrated structure and a very long complex finish.
Florio's Marsala Vergine Riserva: the driest Marsala DOC category, aged minimum 10 years in Florio's 1840-built tuff-stone cellars, fortified without added must.
Tasting notes: Marsala in the driest Vergine style: fortified without added must, aged minimum 10 years in Florio's 1840-built tuff-stone cellars with 104 arches. Dried apricot, walnut, rancio and caramelised orange peel with an extraordinarily long oxidative finish.
Marco De Bartoli's life work: un-fortified perpetuo Grillo from a 5-tier solera at Samperi, achieving Marsala-like complexity without fortification spirits. Sold as IGT Sicilia rather than Marsala because no spirit is added.
Tasting notes: De Bartoli's signature un-fortified perpetuo Grillo aged in a 5-tier solera at Samperi, achieving Marsala-like depth entirely through natural oxidation. Extreme walnut rancio, dried apricot, beeswax and coffee aromatics with concentrated dried fruit, hazelnut oil and sea salt on the palate.
Donnafugata's Passito di Pantelleria DOC from sun-dried Zibibbo on the volcanic island, first produced in 1990 and exported widely through Donnafugata's international network.
Tasting notes: Passito di Pantelleria DOC from sun-dried Zibibbo grown in alberello pantesco vines on the volcanic island. Apricot jam, orange blossom, honey and exotic spices on the nose; candied orange peel, dried apricot, mango and honeyed almond on the palate; very long honeyed exotic-spiced finish.
De Bartoli's zero-sulphur, minimal-intervention Passito di Pantelleria from the Bukkuram estate, with a strongly mineral volcanic profile and a small annual production.
Tasting notes: De Bartoli's minimal-intervention, zero-sulphur take on Passito di Pantelleria from the Bukkuram estate: extreme dried apricot, dried fig, orange blossom and volcanic mineral aromatics; concentrated dried fruit, honey, beeswax and volcanic mineral on the palate; extraordinary honeyed-mineral length.
Peak wine-travel season in Sicily is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.
classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.
most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.
tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.
If you only open one bottle, open Benanti Pietramarina by benanti. It is the wine most associated with Sicily.