Long the breadbasket for every empire that passed through the Mediterranean, Sicily’s still wine was once considered nothing more than bulk juice to be shipped to backfill poorer vintages in more northerly regions, or cheap wine mostly intended for immediate consumption, often tending toward oxidation and lacking complexity. Today, however, things are changing. Attention has been drawn to regions like Vittoria and Etna for years, but as growers move ever more toward a focus on indigenous varieties and the unique differences in growing conditions throughout the island, Sicily is increasingly becoming a treasure trove of selection and price-quality opportunities for drinkers and buyers of wine. And for all of the great red wines of Nerello Mascalese—and, yes, site-specific Nero d’Avola—being produced, the white wines of the island are as complex, varied, and interesting as their red-skinned counterparts.
Full article at GuildSomm.
