Wine regions in Sicily

With a population of around 5,000,000, Sicily is one of the first Italian wine regions involved in winemaking.


The very first wine-making cultures in Sicily were influenced by the Greeks, dating back to around the 8th century BC.


Since the 80s, the winemaking industry has improved considerably. The big wine companies from northern Italy recognised the potential of wine coming from the island. 


In wine terms, the island contains a nice mix of local grape varieties and the more internationally known grapes.


In Sicily (Island of Art -according to the island's official tourism website-), some 106,000 hectares are available for viticulture. More than half of these (54%) are on hilly terrain, 6% are in the mountains and 40% of grapes are grown on the plains.


More than 5 million hectolitres of wine is made annually in Sicily, making it one of Italy's larger regions in terms of wine production.

The wine regions of Sicily


The island of Sicily has a considerable amount of different wine regions. Altogether, there are no less than 23 different areas where grapes are grown and wine is produced. An overview of these wine regions within Sicily are:


Vittoria

Vittoria Classico

Alcamo

Contea di Sclafani (Valledolmo – Contea di Sclafani)

Contessa Entellina

Delia Nivolelli

Eloro

Erice

Etna

Faro

Lipari

Mamertino di Milazzo (Mamertino)

Marsala

Menfi

Monreale

Noto

Pantelleria

Riesi

Salaparuta

Sambuca di Sicilia

Santa Margherita di Belice

Sciacca

Siracusa


You can also find an overview of all 358 wine regions of Italy on Avinturo.

Wine tourism in Sicily


In Italy, so called wine consortiums (there are over 100 in Italy) take care of the promotion and quality standards of their wines per wine or wine region. This clustering of strengths gives them increased ability to promote their wine -or their wine region- to the public.


The Sicily wine growing region has about three of these Consorzia del Vino:



The various sites provide a great starting point for planning your personal wine trip, wine weekend or day in the vineyards with tours and tastings. You can also use the wine itineraries listed below for this purpose. It will save you a huge amount of time researching the details.

Wine routes through Sicily


What can be better than to taste regional and local wines yourself via itineraries composed by the regional winemakers themselves. In Italy, the so called 'Strada dei Vini...' are local wine routes alongside wineries with the opportunity to taste the wines and meet their winemakers in person.


Below are the official wine routes in Sicily. Links to the English-language versions of the relevant site have been included wherever possible.



Check out all (there are more than 100...!) official Italian wine routes of the Strada dei Vini d'Italia.


You can also find the necessary information on wine and wine trips on Sicily's official tourism website.

Viticulture in Sicily - photo by Visit Sicily

Wine region Sicily and the most famous Sicilian wines


Sicily's climate is a characteristic Mediterranean one. Warm summers and mild winters with a fair amount of rain provide an attractive climate for diversified viticulture.


Sicily is home to quite a few local grape varieties. Think blue Frappatano and especially white Catarratto and Inzolia.


Most commonly grown grape is the Catarratto (34%) and the Nero d'Avola (16%). A complete overview of grapes grown in Sicily is given below.


The island's previously most famous wine is undoubtedly the dessert wine Marsala. There are several variations, using the Grillo, Catarrato, Inzolia, Damaschino, Pignatello and the Nero d'Avola.


At present, the Nero d'Avola (called Calabrese in Sicily) is a wine you will commonly come across and has been gaining in quality.


The grape varieties in Sicily

Below is a list of all Sicilian grape varieties. In alphabetical order they are:


Alicante, Alicante Bouschet, Ansonica, Biancame, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Carricante, Catarratto, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Ciliegiolo, Damaschino, Fiano, Frappato, Grecanico Dorato, Grillo, Inzolia, Merlot, Müller-Thurgau, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese, Nero d'Avola (Calabrese), Perricone, Petit Verdot, Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Trebbiano, Vermentino, Viognier and the Zibibbo.


Overview of all wines from Sicily


The vineyards of Sicily produces the wines below (DOCG, DOC and IGT).


Sicily DOCG wines

Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG


Sicily DOC wines

Alcamo DOC

Contea di Sclafani / Valledolmo–Contea di Sclafani DOC

Contessa Entellina DOC

Delia Nivolelli DOC

Eloro DOC

Erice DOC

Etna DOC

Faro DOC

Malvasia delle Lipari DOC

Mamertino di Milazzo / Mamertino DOC

Marsala DOC

Menfi DOC

Monreale DOC

Noto DOC

Pantelleria DOC

Riesi DOC

Salaparuta DOC

Sambuca di Sicilia DOC

Santa Margherita di Belice DOC

Sciacca DOC

Sicilia DOC

Siracusa DOC

Vittoria DOC


Sicily IGP/IGT wines

IGP Avola

IGP Camarro

IGP Fontanarossa di Cerda

IGP Salemi

IGP Salina

IGP Terre Siciliane

IGP Valle Belice


Wine rack full of bottles of red wine

Travel information


Sicily is one of Italy's two main islands, together with Sardinia. There are three major airports through which you can fly to the island. 


If you want to explore the Sicilian wine regions and cannot use your own car, there are several airports nearby. 


  • Catania, airport-code CTA
  • Palermo, PMO
  • Trapani - Birgi (near Marsala), TPS


At the airports, you will be able to rent a car. After that, it is easy to explore the region by yourself with a car.


Another option to get there by car is via one of the ferries that operate from mainland Italy -or France- to Sicily.



Some images are copyright of Strada del Vino Val Mazara and Visit Sicily (Facebook)