Villa Pozzi Nero d'Avola Sicilia IGT, Sicily, Italy

Sicily (Sicilia to its Italian-speaking population) is an autonomous region of Italy, and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. At its widest point, between Messina and Marsala, the island measures 175 miles (280km) east to west, and about one third that distance north to south. Its roughly triangular shape led the island to be dubbed Trinacria (the triangle) during the Middle Ages, and is reflected in the triskelion (a motif with three protrusions) at the center of the regional flag.

For more than 2500 years Sicily has been a significant centre of viticulture in the Mediterranean, although its reputation is not as immaculate and widespread today as it once was. Blessed with consistently bright sunshine and reliably moderate rainfall, the classic Mediterranean climate is ideally suited to the needs of wine-bearing grape vines. Add to that the paucity of the island’s soils and the hilly landscape in which they sit, and the resulting terroir is almost perfect for growing not just vines but also the cereals, olives and citrus fruits which remain the island’s key exports today.

This apparent perfection has, ironically, helped diminish the luster once enjoyed by Sicilian wines, as it encouraged government-driven schemes pushing for higher productivity on the island during the late 20th century. Where once Sicily’s wines came from traditional goblet-trained (bush-shaped) vines, they now come mostly from the higher-yielding tendone (p more ...