Hidden gem in Sicily

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Rustic · Funky

Ajello's Osa red blend of Nero d'Avola and Grillo is an unusual pairing of a red and white variety in a co-fermented red: warm, herbal and distinct from straightforward varietal Nero d'Avola.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Refreshing

Ajello's organic Catarratto from the Belice Valley near Castelvetrano offers a light, mineral expression of the variety: almond-blossom, lemon and chamomile with the clean freshness of organically farmed western Sicilian vines.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Contemplative

Lu Patri is Baglio del Cristo's prestige Nero d'Avola from chalky limestone soils near Agrigento: opulent dark fruit, chocolate and mineral depth from one of the island's most acclaimed organic Nero d'Avola producers.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Fruity

Ficiligno blends Inzolia's almond-citrus freshness with Viognier's perfumed apricot-orange blossom character at high altitude near Palermo, producing an aromatic Sicilian white of unusual floral intensity.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Elegant · Bold

Ramione blends the dark fruit warmth of Nero d'Avola with the softening effect of Merlot at 900 metres above sea level: the result is a polished, smooth Sicilian blend with surprising freshness from altitude.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Savoury

Baglio di Pianetto's high-altitude Syrah shows how the variety performs at 900 metres: the elevation preserves aromatic freshness and pepper-spice that is often lost at lower-altitude Sicilian warmth.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · Racy acidity · Refreshing · Easygoing

Pure Frappato of haunting lightness: pale ruby, white-pepper-dusted red berry fruit, racy acidity and a mineral finish that evokes iron-rich Vittoria soils.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Savoury

COS's white blend shows Sicilian native whites at their most expressive: peachy Inzolia rounds Grecanico's herbaceous mineral edge, finishing with sea-salt salinity.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Rustic · Contemplative

Vigne Vecchie (old vines) showcases the depth of Calabretta's ungrafted Nerello: light in colour but profound in mineral detail, with the incense-and-iron character of century-old Etna vines.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Rustic · Easygoing

One of the few expressions of the rare Mamertino DOC: a Nero d'Avola and Nocera blend from the Milazzo hills near the Tyrrhenian, with the dense dark-fruit character of Nero d'Avola lifted by Nocera's bitter herb notes.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Festive · Romantic

Caravaglio's organic Malvasia delle Lipari Passito captures the pure floral-honeyed character of the grape from the Malfa area on Salina's northern slope, with a distinctive volcanic mineral dimension and slightly more freshness than the Hauner style.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Easygoing

Caravaglio's Salina Bianco is a dry expression of Malvasia di Lipari: the grape's characteristic floral and apricot aromatics expressed without sweetness, blended with Inzolia for freshness. A charming, mineral everyday white from the Aeolian Islands.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Bold · Savoury

Fatagione is one of Italy's most unusual cuvees: pure Mondeuse (Savoie's signature red grape) grown at altitude on Etna's volcanic soils, producing a peppery, full-bodied red of singular character.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Elegant · Bold

Cusumano's premium Chardonnay, Jale, shows the full-sun ripeness of Sicilian Chardonnay through barrique treatment: rich, creamy and tropical with hazelnut-vanilla depth.

Off Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Fruity

Lighea blends Zibibbo's heady Muscat-like perfume with native white grapes in a delicately off-dry aromatic style: floral, peachy, with balancing acidity that keeps it from cloying.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Vigna di Gabri is Donnafugata's premium Contessa Entellina white: a blend of native Sicilian whites with Chardonnay, showing greater textural complexity than Anthilia with a more persistent mineral finish.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Savoury

Grillo grown at altitude in central Sicily develops an unusual aromatic tension; this steel-only white is crisper and more mineral than coastal Grillos with notable herbal lift.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Contemplative

Ribeca is one of Sicily's most important varietal Perricone wines: this nearly extinct native grape produces a wine of austere iron-mineral character, tart red fruit and high acidity that is unlike any other Sicilian red.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Funky · Contemplative

MunJebel Bianco from Cornelissen shows the volcanic-herbal dimension of Etna whites when made without additions: textured, complex and with a distinctively wild herbal-mineral character from the blend of Carricante, Catarratto and ancient Minella.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · Racy acidity · Refreshing · Funky

Susucaru is Cornelissen's zero-addition rosato: brief skin contact on Nerello Mascalese yields a pale, mineral-driven rose with wild red fruit and Etna's characteristic volcanic salinity.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold

From the Barbabecchi contrada at higher elevation than Arcuria, this Graci red is the most structured and demanding of the range: dense, chalky, and extraordinarily long-lived.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Refreshing

Hauner's Salina Rosso is a rare Aeolian red from Nero d'Avola and the indigenous Corinto Nero: light-bodied, herb-scented and saline-mineral, reflecting the island's volcanic coastal terroir in a red wine format.

Sweet · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Festive · Romantic

Maggio Vini's Moscato di Noto is a delicately sweet fortified-adjacent late-harvest Moscato Bianco from the sun-drenched Noto terroir: peach blossom, orange and apricot with balancing acidity from the variety's natural freshness.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Easygoing · Refreshing

Grappoli del Grillo is De Bartoli's dry still table wine from Grillo, made without oxidation: a fresh, mineral white that showcases the grape's natural salinity, citrus character and almond-bitter finish when vinified as a conventional still wine rather than a perpetuo.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Funky · Contemplative

Pietra Pumice (pumice stone) is De Bartoli's dry Zibibbo table wine from Pantelleria: made without additions on the volcanic pumice soils, it shows the wild mineral character of the island when Zibibbo is vinified dry and naturally.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · Racy acidity · Refreshing · Elegant

Occhipinti's varietal Frappato is perhaps the finest expression of the variety: achingly delicate, chalk-mineral, fresh raspberry and rose-hip with extraordinary tension for its light weight.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Savoury

The white counterpart to SP68 Rosso: Grecanico and Zibibbo from volcanic soils, aromatically intense, mineral and saline with a citrus-peach freshness.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Contrada C Chiappemacine is among the lightest and most elegant of the Passopisciaro contrada series: fragrant, iron-tinged, with firm but fine-grained tannins.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Chardonnay at 1,000 metres on Etna's volcanic soils: a rare and singular white - tropical richness undercut by volcanic salinity and a cool high-altitude acidity that gives exceptional freshness.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Savoury

Pellegrino's Vergine Soleras uses a traditional solera system (perpetuo) maintaining wine from multiple decades: a layered, dry Marsala of walnut-and-apricot complexity that reflects the long Pellegrino history.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Elegant · Bold

Rapitala Grand Cru is the estate's flagship Chardonnay: a full barrique-fermented Sicilian Chardonnay from the Camporeale hillside estate combining tropical fruit richness with a toasty-creamy Burgundian framework.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Elegant · Bold

Hugonis, named for the founding de la Gatinais family, blends Cabernet Sauvignon's structure with Nero d'Avola's Sicilian warmth in a wine that reflects the estate's Franco-Sicilian origins.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Funky

Gabrio Bini's Serragghia is the cult natural passito of Pantelleria: zero-sulphur, zero additions, biodynamic Zibibbo on volcanic pumice soils producing a wine of wild, unpredictable character and extraordinary mineral depth - the most challenging and most sought-after natural sweet wine in Sicily.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Funky · Contemplative

Serragghia's dry Zibibbo is among the most mineral and wild table wines produced in Sicily: zero-sulphur, biodynamic, from the volcanic pumice soils of Pantelleria, it captures the island's raw elemental character without sweetness.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium tannin · Medium acidity · Rustic · Savoury

Tenuta Gatti's Nero d'Avola from the Nebrodi slopes in the Messina province is unusually mineral and herbal compared to southern Sicilian examples: the altitude and Nebrodi scrubland influence give a cooler, more aromatic character to this northerly Nero d'Avola.

Dry · Light-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Tenuta Gatti's Pinot Nero, grown at altitude on the Nebrodi slopes in northern Sicily, is one of Italy's southernmost Pinot Nero bottlings: light, mineral and earthy with the Nebrodi altitude moderating what would otherwise be an impossible growing zone for the variety.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Refreshing · Easygoing

Named for local volcanic-spring activity, Mofete is Zisola's fresh Grillo: peach-citrus aromatics, herbal freshness and clean mineral finish from the warm Noto terroir.