Nero d'Avola: the Sicilian red you know, probably not well enough
If you have already opened a Nero d'Avola, you know the signature: dark ripe fruit, cherry in spirit, warm spice, a finish that takes its time. It settles into the glass comfortably and has no interest in leaving quickly. That directness is the grape's strength and also its trap - plenty of producers have leaned hard into the weight and forgotten about balance.
The variety comes from the south-east of the island, mainly around Avola, Noto, and Pachino. On clay soils with low yields it produces wines that hold up for years without losing character. The trouble is that its commercial success in the 2000s turned it into a commodity. The market filled up with anonymous bottles made to a price, and the grape's reputation took the hit.
The correction has been real, though. Cos, Gulfi, and Occhipinti approach the grape in completely different ways - biodynamic farming, amphora fermentation, very old vines - and the results are Nero d'Avola bottles that surprise even jaded palates. If you want to work through the labels without getting lost, our Nero d'Avola guide covers the main producers and what to expect from each.
Pairing: lamb skewers, pasta alla norma with proper fried aubergine, aged Sicilian pecorino. One combination that works and gets overlooked - a good margherita pizza. The tomato sweetness meets the wine's fruit without any clash. Serve around 16-17 degrees, no warmer.
Etna Rosso: the volcano that makes you rethink southern Italian wine
The first time you open an Etna Rosso it can genuinely disorient. You expect Sicily - heat, concentration, something dense - and instead you find live acidity, fine tannins, a profile that has more in common with certain Pinot Noirs from Burgundy than with anything else produced south of Rome. That is the paradox of Etna: a volcano that makes fresh wine, in the precise rather than the lightweight sense.
The vines explain it. They grow from 400 to 1,000 metres above sea level, where the temperature difference between day and night is significant. Nerello Mascalese - the main grape permitted in the Etna Rosso DOC - ripens slowly at these altitudes, holds its acidity, and builds aromatic complexity it would never reach on the plain below. The volcanic soils, rich in minerals and low in organic matter, add a ferrous, almost saline edge that you recognise immediately once you have encountered it once.
Then there is the contrada question. On the north face of the mountain, each zone has a distinct personality: Feudo di Mezzo is austere, Rampante more floral, Calderara Sottana tighter and more vertical. The comparison to Burgundy's Premier Cru system is not just marketing - it describes the logic of the territory accurately, even if the wines taste nothing like Burgundy when you get them in the glass.
For anyone curious about the producers and considering visiting them, we have put together a guide on visiting Etna wineries - it is worth the trip.
Etna Bianco: the volcanic white that converts almost everyone
If the Etna Rosso divides opinion - some people love it immediately, others need time - the Bianco tends to win people over quickly. Carricante, the base grape of the Etna Bianco DOC, produces wines with a sharpness that cuts clean: citrus, white flowers, and the saline minerality that marks everything grown on volcanic soil. It works on its own, but fish takes it to another level.
The east face of Etna, around Milo, is the heart of the Etna Bianco Superiore designation - this geographical restriction is written into the DOC rules. The vines there are often over a hundred years old, trained in the traditional alberello bush system. Working them is slow and expensive; mechanisation is nearly impossible on those slopes. That is part of why the serious bottles from old vines cost what they cost. When you drink one, you understand where the money went.
Producers worth following: Benanti is one of the pioneers and still makes wines of real consistency. Cornelissen makes something more personal and not for everyone, but interesting. I Vigneri, the small cooperative run by Salvo Foti, works with traditional methods and turns out results that have impressed us across several vintages - the quality is not accidental.
Pairing: roasted prawns with coarse salt, cuttlefish stew, ceviche if you want to move away from Italian pairings. It also works with pasta alle vongole in bianco - the acidity clears the palate without overriding the sea flavours. Serve at 10-12 degrees and do not leave it in the freezer. Mineral wines like this give more when they have a bit of temperature.
Grillo, Catarratto, Zibibbo: Sicilian whites that deserve more attention
Outside the Etna DOC, Sicilian whites spent years being sold as easy summer drinking - light, uncomplicated, not worth thinking about. The underestimation was predictable, and it was not entirely unfair for the wines being made at the time. A generation of producers has changed what these grapes can do, and the results are now in the glass.
Grillo is probably the most versatile. It comes from the Trapani area, where it was historically blended into Marsala. Vinified on its own with care, it gives whites with real structure: yellow flowers, white peach, a savory thread that makes it good with swordfish Messina-style or with caponata. Donnafugata has done more than most to show what the grape can do - their Lighea is a reasonable starting point if you want to understand the range. We go into more detail in our Donnafugata review.
Catarratto is harder to handle. It is productive by nature, which is why it has so often been used for anonymous, high-volume wine. With low yields and harvesting at the right moment, it produces whites with freshness and unexpected complexity. Some bottles from the Alcamo area have surprised us recently.
Zibibbo - Moscato di Alessandria, the same grape - earns a separate paragraph for Passito di Pantelleria, one of the great Italian sweet wines. Dried apricot, figs, honey, with a sweetness that never becomes cloying because the acidity and salt keep pulling it back. Drink it as dessert on its own, or with blue cheese if you want to catch your guests off guard.
Marsala and Sicilian oxidative wines: ignored too long, underrated still
Marsala's reputation problem is real and well-documented. Decades of being splashed into pans or spooned over tiramisu reduced it to an ingredient in most people's minds. Almost nobody pours it into a glass to drink. But take a serious Marsala Vergine Riserva - aged a minimum of five years in wood, no cooked must added - and you find something worth sitting with: walnut, nougat, bitter almond, salted caramel, with a finish that does not stop. It belongs next to Sherry and Madeira in any honest conversation about great oxidative wines. Serve it cool, around 12-14 degrees, in a white wine glass, with almonds or aged cheese.
Marco De Bartoli is the name that rescued the reputation of artisan Marsala. His estate, founded in 1978 in the Samperi district, never bent to industrial logic. His Vecchio Samperi - technically not a Marsala DOC because no alcohol is added, but a perpetuum on the Solera model - is one of those experiences that stays. We serve it regularly at the end of a meal with toasted almonds and pistachios. It works every time.
Oxidative Sicilian wines are finding a new audience among the more curious end of the wine-drinking world. People who have discovered Jerez and the Jura are now looking for something similar in Italy - quality Marsala is the obvious answer, though few have connected the dots yet. If you are in that camp, start with a Marsala Superiore Secco and let it surprise you. Try it alongside 70% dark chocolate. It does better than you expect.
The practical difficulty is finding the right producers. The category is dominated by industrial brands selling Marsala all'uovo and similar. The serious small producers exist, they are good, and they are often reasonably priced relative to what is in the bottle. They are worth hunting for.
How to choose a Sicilian wine without getting lost
Sicily has almost 97,000 hectares under vine - the 2021 ISTAT census counted 96,903, roughly one seventh of all Italian vineyard land - and dozens of DOC and IGT designations. Picking a bottle without some framework can feel random. A few practical rules help.
First: look at the grape before the denomination. In Sicily, the variety on the label tells you more than the DOC name in most cases. "Nero d'Avola" gives you a precise expectation of what is in the glass. "Sicilia DOC" on its own does not. The same applies to Nerello Mascalese - if you see it without the Etna designation, the grapes almost certainly came from a different area, and the wine will be different. No judgment, but you need to know that going in.
Second: take the whites seriously. The pull toward Sicilian red is understandable, but some of the most interesting bottles on the island, and some of the best value, are white. Grillo, Carricante, Catarratto - all worth trying.
Third: price is a signal, not a verdict. There are excellent Nero d'Avola wines under 10 euro and disappointing Etna Rosso at 40. Read reviews from people who taste for a living, and when you find a producer whose work you trust, go back to them. Consistency is the rarest quality in wine, and the most valuable.
We always suggest buying at least two bottles of the same wine: one to open now, one to put aside for a few years. The difference in the glass tells you more about a wine than any note written by someone else.
Domande frequenti
What is the difference between Nerello Mascalese and Nero d'Avola?
They are two completely different grapes. Nero d'Avola comes from south-east Sicily and gives warm, fruit-forward, soft wines. Nerello Mascalese grows on Etna at high altitude and produces wines that are fresher, more structured, with finer tannins. Same island, opposite characters.
Does Etna Rosso age well, or should you drink it young?
The best Etna Rosso from serious producers holds up for 8-12 years without difficulty, and some go longer. The live acidity and fine tannins are a solid frame that preserves the wine over time. Young, they can seem austere - a few years in bottle softens them and adds complexity.
What do you pair with Nero d'Avola if you don't eat meat?
Pasta alla norma with properly fried aubergine, caponata, aged Sicilian pecorino, pizza with tomato and basil. The ripe fruit in Nero d'Avola stands up well to flavourful vegetarian dishes as long as they have some structure. Skip delicate white fish steamed or poached - it gets overwhelmed.
Is it worth paying more for a single-contrada Etna Rosso?
It depends how much the detail interests you. The single-contrada wines - Feudo di Mezzo, Rampante, Calderara Sottana - show real differences in the glass that an attentive drinker will notice. If you are still getting to know Etna, a blend from several zones is a good entry point at a lower price.
Can I order Sicilian wine if I live outside Italy?
Yes, though which merchants ship to which countries varies and changes. The online shops linked from this site are selected based on where they actually deliver - check the specific merchant's shipping page for your country before ordering, as coverage differs between retailers and is not uniform across Europe.