Expert’s Choice: Sicily’s native whites

The Italians describe Sicily as a continent. The range of landscapes and climates on this remarkable island go from volcanoes and mountains to salt flats and beaches, with temperatures and rainfall that are equally variable. So it’s no wonder that the vine has played such an important part in Sicily’s history and economy.

Scroll down for Carla Capalbo’s top 18 native Sicilian white wines

Currently white wine makes up about 60% of the island’s production. While some international varieties are grown and vinified, it’s the indigenous grapes that are telling the most powerful stories about the island’s character. At least a dozen native white varieties are currently in production, with the main focus being on Catarratto (which itself makes up about 60% of all Sicilian whites), Carricante, Grillo, Inzolia (Ansonica), Grecanico, Trebbiano, Malvasia and Zibibbo (Moscato di Alessandria). Many others are produced in very small or localised quantities.‘In the past 20 years, Sicilian winemaking has moved away from its mass-production of grapes and must, and undergone huge transformations,’ says Giorgio Melandri, one of Italy’s top wine experts. ‘It began with the help of the big brand-name estates which spread the word about Sicilian wines in general around the world.Then, when the wines from the volcanic slopes of Etna burst onto the scene, that message shifted to one about high-quality wines that were specific to a very unique terroir. This changed the way that even the bigger brands made and marketed their wines. Indeed, most of the big names from other parts of Sicily have recently bought properties on Etna. What’s impressive is how Sicily has accommodated these changes.’

As in other parts of the world, it’s often individual pioneers who show the potential of a wine or area. The late Marco De Bartoli was inspiring not only for his groundbreaking work in redeeming the reputation of Marsala, but also for his intuition about vinifying both the aromatic Zibibbo (used on Pantelleria for making passito dessert wines) and Grillo (the main grape in Marsala) as dry table wines. Many others have followed suit.

On Etna, it was Giuseppe Benanti who first brought the world’s attention to the power and complexity of Carricante, in his legendary Pietramarina (sadly not available for this tasting). Producers such as Marc De Grazia saw in Carricante’s saline expressiveness from the black volcanic soils the possibility to make long-ageing whites to stand alongside Burgundy and other top white wine regions. Sicily is also leading the way in organic wines: 30% of its production is now certified, and some fine biodynamic and ‘natural’ wines are also being made.

Finally, a note about this tasting: I invited 80 Sicilian wineries to submit their wines; about 40 of them did so. These included many well-made examples with excellent price-to-quality ratios, which did not make it into this (small) final list, but whose wines are exported around the world and well worth trying. The selection below showcases the diversity of some of the best grapes and their producers.

Scroll down for Carla Capalbo’s top 18 native Sicilian white wines

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