Sicily: The Island That Drinks Better Than the Mainland

Ripe grapes growing in the pale soils of Il Mortellito’s vineyard — The vines at Il Mortellito, Val di Noto, Sicily. Source: Il Mortellito.

Sicily was for decades Europe's wine tap: enormous quantities of high-alcohol, deeply coloured wine shipped north to bulk up thin vintages elsewhere, anonymously blended and never labelled as Sicilian. Then a generation of winemakers returned from training on the mainland and in France and found extraordinary raw material: volcanic soils, indigenous varieties, old vineyards that had never been ripped out. And they started making wine that deserved a label.

Sicily has been making wine for 3,000 years. For most of that time, it was bulk wine heading north. The interesting part is what's happening now.

The bulk wine era and why it ended

Sicily was for decades Europe's wine tap: enormous quantities of high-alcohol, deeply coloured wine shipped north to bulk up thin Burgundy and Bordeaux vintages, anonymously blended, never labelled as Sicilian. That began changing in the 1990s when a generation of Sicilian winemakers returned from training in France with different ambitions and found extraordinary raw material waiting.

The grapes that make Sicily specific

Nerello Mascalese grows on the slopes of Mount Etna in volcanic ash soils at altitude, producing a red with the structure and finesse of Burgundy, light in colour, high in acid, earthy and perfumed rather than jammy. Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria) makes wines of extraordinary perfume around Pantelleria. These are varieties that evolved over millennia to a specific place.

What volcanic soils actually taste like

Volcanic ash soils are low in organic matter and high in minerals; they drain extremely well and force vines to work hard for water, concentrating flavour without concentrating sugar. The mineral character, something almost smoky, earthy, and specific, isn't something you can replicate by farming different soils. It's the same principle as Mosel slate for Riesling: the soil is a character contributor.

Why Sicily sits well on a Dutch wine shelf

Italian wine is consistently among the Netherlands' most imported categories, but the Sicilian story is less well told here than the Tuscan or Piemontese one. The wines we carry come from small estates that have chosen indigenous varieties over international ones: a decision that gives them flavour you cannot get from a Merlot or Chardonnay made anywhere.