Sicily

Island off the coast of Italy. The capital is Palermo. The total vineyard area is 133.518 hectares, making it the largest region in Italy. The island of Pantelleria, to the south-west, as well as the Liparian islands to the north-east are also included. The Greeks established various colonies on the island from the 8th century BC onwards, and initially named the island Trinacria, after the triangular shape of the island. Later it was renamed after the Siculi mountain tribe. The Greeks brought along their viticultural techniques, as well as abcient grape varieties such as Eugenia, Grecanico and Murgentina. These were later also taken to central Italy and planted there. The Murgentina grape also became known as the „Pompeian grape“, this fared particularly well on the volcanic soils on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius near Pompeii, and in the old Etrucan town of Clusium (Chiusi in Tuscany). The cities of Syracuse and Taormina (on Mount Etna) rapidly developed into flourishing centres of the wine trade. Documents show there were vineyards around the settlement of Agrigento in the 5th century BC. Sicily played an important part in the development of Italian viticulture. The island became a province of Rome as a result of the Second Punic War (212 BC), but was used for centuries mainly as a source of wheat and other cereals and grains. The elder Pliny (23-79 AD) mentions two Sicilian wines in his list of ancient wines. The first is a Mamertinum from Messina, which was allegedly much appreciated by Julius Caesar (100-44 BC). The second wine is a Haluntium from Syracuse, which is thought to live on today in the form of the DOC Moscato di Siracusa. Sicily came under Osman rule in the 7th to 9th centuries. While the new rulers tolerated viticulture, grapes were mainly used to produce raisins. The Osmans also introduced the art of distilling. This was then extensively used by the Catholic orders. Grains were the leading agricultural product in medieval times. The vineyards expanded from the 14th century onward, and wines were exported from Sicily to northern Italy, Malta and Constantinople.

In ancient times, Sicilian wines were mainly sweet wines, and this remains the same today. The Englishman John Woodhouse invented perhaps the most famous of all Sicilian wines, Marsala, here in the late 18th century. Most of the soils are volcanic in origin, and vineyards are located at altitudes of up to 900 metres above sea level. Around three quarters of the area is planted with white varieties, the most important of which are Catarratto#Catarratto Bianco (around 40%), Grillo, Inzolia and Trebbiano. The most widely planted red varieties are Nero d´Avola (Calabrese) and Nerello. The production of table grapes is extremely important. Annual production of wine is around 9 million hectolitres. Mainly, these are base wines used for distilling, or basic red, rosé and white blends. There are excellent IGT´s (table wines), produced in large quantities. Well-known producers include Abazzia Santa Anastasia, Alcesti, Marco de Bartoli, Cusumano, Donnafugata, Duca di Salaparuta (mit Markenwein Corvo), Feudo Principi di Butera, Firriato, Geraci, Morgante, Settesoli, Tasca d´Almerita (produces the branded wine Regaleali), Pellegrino and Planeta. DOC wines account for only 3 per cent of the total volume. The first DOCG region was only classified in 2004. The DOC zones are:

* Alcamo
* Cerasuolo di Vittoria (DOCG)
* Contea di Sclafani
* Contessa Entellina
* Delia Nivolelli
* Eloro
* Etna
* Faro
* Malvasia delle Lipari
* Marsala
* Menfi
* Monreale
* Moscato di Noto
* Moscato di Pantelleria
* Moscato di Siracusa
* Passito di Pantelleria
* Riesi
* Salaparuta
* Sambuca di Sicilia
* Santa Margherita di Belice
* Sciacca