- Wine Tour Destinations
After a long history of producing high-alcohol blending wines primarily for export, Sicily’s wine industry has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past three decades.
Today, the focus is firmly on quality over quantity, with smaller local producers like Mandrarossa winery and Baglio Occhipinti championing lower yields, sustainable practices, and indigenous grape varieties such as Catarratto, Grillo, and Nero d’Avola.
Sicily is home to more than 20 DOC wine regions, with the best known including Etna DOC, Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG and Marsala DOC. Alongside these historic appellations, you will also encounter Sicilia DOC, an island-wide designation established in 2011 to strengthen the identity and international recognition of Sicilian wines.
Although vines have been cultivated on the slopes of Mount Etna since the 3rd Century, it was not until 1968 that Etna became not only Sicily’s first DOC wine region, but one of the earliest recognised regions in Italy.
Etna’s distinctive microclimate, shaped by varying altitudes, temperatures, and rainfall levels, creates an extraordinary diversity of wine styles across the region. Its volcanic soils also played a vital role in protecting many vineyards from the phylloxera epidemic that devastated many European vineyards in the late 19th Century, allowing some ungrafted vines on Etna to survive for well over a century.
These rare old vines, though delicate, continue to produce wines of remarkable complexity, elegance, and character. The primary grapes grown on Etna are Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio for red and Carricante for white.
If you enjoy sparkling wine, Etna DOC also produces elegant sparkling rosé and white wines, made with a minimum of 60% Nerello Mascalese and up to 40% other approved Sicilian grape varieties.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG is an Italian dry red Italian wine from a region around the commune of Vittoria in the province of Ragusa. The only wine with DOCG status in Sicily, it is made from a blend of two Sicilian grape varieties, Nero d’Avola (locally known as Calabrese) representing between 50% and 70%, and Frappato representing between 30% and 70%.
Lighter Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG pairs beautifully with classic Sicilian fish dishes and pasta, while the more structured bottles are excellent with stews, black truffle risotto, roast beef, or gnocchi.
Marsala is the most well known Sicilian wine, as well as a favourite among our team. Marsala was invented and commercialised by the English merchant John Woodhouse in the 18th century after he tasted the local wine after being forced off course by a storm, porting in Marsala for safety.
Recognising the potential of the wine for export, he arranged to ship large quantities back to England. Brandy was added to fortify the wine for the journey and Marsala wine as we know and love it, was born.
Marsala wine received DOC status in 1969. It is known for being used in cooking, but can also be served as an aperitif or with dessert. There are different variations of Marsala due to the varying ageing times and processing. These include white wines Marsala Oro and Ambra and red wine Rubino. Marsala and Marsala Oro are produced using the grapes Grillo, Catarratto, Inzolia, and Damaschino whereas Marsala Rubino is produced with a combination of Perricone, Calabrese, and Nerello Mascalese. The wine will be distinguished as sweet, dry, or semi-dry depending on the sugar content.
Our friendly team would love to hear from you on +44 (0) 1920 56 02 75 or at info@grapeescapes.net to discuss your requirements and suggest a premium Sicily wine tour, however we have listed here some of our favourite offerings, which are also available to book online.
If you can’t find what you are looking for on our web site, we would be thrilled to put together a tailor-made Sicily wine tour itinerary for you. Just get in touch!
The team at Grape Escapes were just wonderful. We tasted some amazing wines and enjoyed every minute of our vacation!
Sheryl and Jon - Texas, USA
