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Italy

Sicily

98 000 ha under vine

Soils
Etna's black lava, chalk and tufa in the southeast, iron-red sands and clays elsewhere
Climate
Africa's doorstep — hot and dry, tempered by altitude and three surrounding seas

On the map

Sicily — 98 000 haLanguedoc — 220 000 haBordeaux — 110 000 haVeneto — 96 000 haPuglia — 87 000 haSouthern Rhône — 66 000 haRioja — 66 000 haTuscany — 60 000 haLoire Valley — 57 000 haEmilia-Romagna — 50 000 haKakheti — 48 000 haSouth-West France — 45 000 haPiedmont — 43 000 haDouro — 43 000 haChampagne — 34 000 haAbruzzo — 33 000 haUtiel-Requena — 32 000 haBurgundy — 29 500 haProvence — 27 000 haSardinia — 27 000 haFriuli — 25 000 haRibera del Duero — 25 000 haPenedès — 25 000 haPfalz — 23 000 haCampania — 23 000 haAlentejo — 22 000 haMinho — 21 000 haRueda — 20 000 haDão — 20 000 haMarche — 16 000 haAlsace — 15 600 haBeaujolais — 13 500 haBurgenland — 13 000 haUmbria — 12 000 haCalabria — 9 000 haMosel — 8 800 haDalmatia — 8 000 haJerez — 7 000 haCyprus — 7 000 haAttica — 6 500 haFranken — 6 100 haCorsica — 6 000 haTokaj — 5 800 haAlto Adige — 5 600 haValais — 4 800 haNorthern Rhône — 4 400 haRías Baixas — 4 300 haNahe — 4 200 haSussex & Kent — 4 000 haRheingau — 3 200 haBierzo — 3 000 haNemea — 3 000 haSavoie — 2 200 haJura — 2 000 haPriorat — 2 000 haWachau — 1 350 haValdeorras — 1 300 haSantorini — 1 100 haNaoussa — 700 haMadeira — 450 haColares — 20 haSicilyLanguedocBordeauxVenetoPugliaSouthern RhôneRiojaTuscanyLoire ValleyEmilia-RomagnaKakhetiSouth-West FrancePiedmontDouroChampagneAbruzzoUtiel-RequenaBurgundyProvenceSardiniaFriuliRibera del DueroPenedèsPfalzCampaniaAlentejoMinhoRuedaDãoMarcheAlsaceBeaujolaisBurgenlandUmbriaCalabriaMoselDalmatiaJerezCyprusAtticaFrankenCorsicaTokajAlto AdigeValaisNorthern RhôneRías BaixasNaheSussex & KentRheingauBierzoNemeaSavoieJuraPrioratWachauValdeorrasSantoriniNaoussaMadeiraColares
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

The Greeks planted here from the eighth century BC, and Sicily became the cellar of Magna Graecia — wine was among the island's first exports and never ceased to be. Its modern fortunes began with an Englishman: John Woodhouse, who in 1773 fortified a shipment of local white for the voyage home and founded the Marsala trade that dominated the island for a century.

For most of the twentieth century Sicily was Italy's anonymous bulk-wine island, its huge harvest shipped north in tankers. The turn of the 2000s changed everything: Etna's black slopes were replanted and rediscovered, Nero d'Avola became an estate wine rather than a blending one, and Cerasuolo di Vittoria won the island's only DOCG — Italy's old south, suddenly its most exciting region.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Etna Rosso Red wine Nero d'Avola Red wine Marsala Fortified

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 45The Monastic Middle Ages — 25Exploration & the Fortified Age — 25Classifications & the Golden Age — 30Phylloxera & the World Crises — 25The Modern & New World Era — 55Antiquity45500150017001875195055
Origins & Antiquity Antiquity The Monastic Middle Ages 500 Exploration & the Fortified Age 1500 Classifications & the Golden Age 1700 Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950