Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Benanti ViticoltoriSicily€€€€€€€€Still Red
Benanti's top-tier Etna Rosso from the Serra della Contessa contrada at 700 metres: concentrated, structured, and among the most age-worthy expressions of Nerello Mascalese on the volcano.
Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Festive · Romantic
Caravaglio (Salina / Malvasia)Sicily€€€€€€€Dessert Passito
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.
Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Festive · Romantic
Donnafugata PantelleriaSicily€€€€€€€€Dessert Passito
Ben Rye (Arabic for 'son of the wind') is Italy's most celebrated Passito di Pantelleria: sun-dried Zibibbo from the alberello pantesco vines on the volcanic island, achieving a concentration and aromatic complexity that has defined the appellation's international reputation.
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
DonnafugataSicily€€€€€€€€Still Red
Donnafugata's flagship red, Mille e Una Notte blends Nero d'Avola with Petit Verdot and Syrah from the Contessa Entellina estate: concentrated, structured and age-worthy with exceptional depth.
Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Cantine FlorioSicily€€€€€€€Fortified Marsala
Florio's Marsala Vergine Riserva is a benchmark for the driest and most complex Marsala style: fortified without added must, aged minimum 10 years in large oak in the tuff-stone cellars, developing deep rancio oxidative complexity.
Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Festive · Romantic
Cantine FlorioSicily€€€€€€€Dessert Passito
Morsi di Luce (bites of light) is Florio's Passito di Pantelleria: sun-dried Zibibbo grapes from Pantelleria producing a sweet, honeyed wine with apricot and orange blossom aromatics.
Medium Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Festive · Contemplative
Cantine FlorioSicily€€€€€€€Fortified Marsala
The Targa Riserva 1840 is Florio's ambassador wine: a Marsala Superiore Riserva of medium-sweet richness, aged 5-plus years in the historic cellars, balancing caramelised dried-fruit complexity with the freshness of Grillo.
Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Savoury
Cantine FlorioSicily€€€€€€€€Fortified Marsala
Terre Arse (burnt lands - a reference to Marsala's sun-scorched landscape) is Florio's dry-style Marsala Vergine mid-tier: oxidative, nutty and almond-driven, without the full intensity of the Riserva.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Funky
Frank CornelissenSicily€€€€€€€€€€Still Red
Magma is one of Italy's most sought-after cult wines: pure Nerello Mascalese from ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines above 1,000 metres, no sulphur added, aged in amphora. The wine embodies volcanic terroir at its most extreme and unfiltered.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold
Girolamo RussoSicily€€€€€€€€Still Red
The prestige Russo single-vineyard: 'A Rina (dialect for 'la rena' - the sand) from some of the deepest sandy volcanic soils on the north slope, producing the most austere and age-demanding wine in the portfolio.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold
GraciSicily€€€€€€€€Still Red
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.
Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Festive · Romantic
Hauner (Malvasia delle Lipari)Sicily€€€€€€€€Dessert Passito
Hauner's Malvasia delle Lipari Passito is the benchmark for this rare Aeolian appellation: sun-dried Malvasia di Lipari producing a wine of extraordinary floral complexity, apricot sweetness and the distinctive volcanic mineral character of the island of Salina.
Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Funky
Marco De Bartoli - Bukkuram (Pantelleria)Sicily€€€€€€€€Dessert Passito
Sole d'Agosto (August sun) is the De Bartoli minimal-intervention take on Passito di Pantelleria: zero-sulphur Zibibbo from the Bukkuram estate, producing an almost overwhelmingly concentrated dried-fruit and honey wine with a volcanic mineral dimension absent from other Pantelleria passiti.
Medium Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Festive
Marco De BartoliSicily€€€€€€€€Fortified Marsala
De Bartoli's 10-year Marsala Superiore Riserva is produced with minimal fortification compared to standard Marsala, preserving more natural character from the Grillo grape: the result is lighter in oxidative weight than the Vergine range but more genuinely grape-expressive than industrial Marsala.
Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Funky
Marco De BartoliSicily€€€€€€€€Fortified Marsala
Vecchio Samperi is Marco De Bartoli's life work and Sicily's most important wine: un-fortified perpetuo Grillo aged in a 5-tier solera at Samperi, achieving Marsala-like depth and complexity entirely through natural oxidation - no fortification spirits added. Among the world's most distinctive and debated fortified-style wines.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold
Passopisciaro (Vini Franchetti)Sicily€€€€€€€€Still Red
Contrada R Rampante, from the highest-altitude Passopisciaro site at 1,000 metres, produces the most structured and slow-evolving wine of the range: taut, mineral and built for exceptional longevity.
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Bold · Contemplative
Passopisciaro (Vini Franchetti)Sicily€€€€€€€€€Still Red
Franchetti is the prestige cuvee of the estate: a powerful blend of Petit Verdot and Cesanese d'Affile from Etna's volcanic soils, combining Bordeaux structure with the island's volcanic energy. A wine of exceptional concentration and longevity.
Medium Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Festive
Cantine PellegrinoSicily€€€€€€€Fortified Marsala
Pellegrino's 10-year Marsala Superiore Riserva is a showcase for the family-owned house's century-long expertise: 10 years of barrel ageing develop extraordinary complexity of dried fruit, coffee and roasted nut character.
Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Festive · Romantic
Cantine PellegrinoSicily€€€€€€€Dessert Passito
Nes (shortened from the Pantelleria dialect 'giardino pantesco', an enclosed garden) is Pellegrino's sun-drenched Passito di Pantelleria: concentrated Zibibbo with apricot-honey character and the characteristic volcanic depth of Pantelleria.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold
PietradolceSicily€€€€€€€€€Still Red
Vigna Barbagalli is Pietradolce's prestige single-vineyard Etna Rosso from ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines at 850 metres: among the most collectible and age-worthy Nerello Mascalese produced on the north slope.
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Contemplative
PlanetaSicily€€€€€€€Still Red
Santa Cecilia is Planeta's prestige single-estate Nero d'Avola from Noto: rich, structured and mineral with chocolate-dark-fruit depth and the long finish that defines this appellation.
Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Funky
Serragghia (Pantelleria)Sicily€€€€€€€€Dessert Passito
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.
Sweet · Full-bodied · Low tannin · Medium acidity · Festive · Romantic
Tasca d'Almerita Capofaro (Salina)Sicily€€€€€€€€Dessert Passito
Capofaro's Malvasia delle Lipari Passito is produced at one of Italy's most dramatically situated wineries, with terrace vines overlooking Stromboli. The Tasca d'Almerita winemaking precision elevates the passito style with clean, precise floral-honeyed concentration and the distinctive volcanic mineral signature of Salina.
Dry · Full-bodied · High tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Tasca d'AlmeritaSicily€€€€€€€€Still Red
Sicily's most historic prestige red: Tasca's Rosso del Conte blends Nero d'Avola with Perricone from the Regaleali plateau, aged two years in large oak. It is the island's longest-established benchmark for structured, age-worthy Sicilian reds.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold
Tenuta delle Terre NereSicily€€€€€€€€Still Red
The Guardiola contrada yields the most powerful and structured of the Terre Nere single-vineyard range: darker fruit, greater density, and a long mineral-chalky finish.