Uncorked: Sicily now a player on the fine-wine stage

Sicily has been a melting pot of societies and cultures for centuries.

“We have an incredible area for architecture,” Giovanni Saladino, a spokesperson for the Sicilian DOC Consortium, said. “It’s the biggest Greek area outside of Athens. The Greeks brought olive trees. We see it today, olive trees, grapes, orange trees everywhere. Two thousand years ago, Sicily looked incredibly different. The Arabs brought oranges. The Normans, the Vikings, came in the Middle Ages and brought Christianity.

“In Sicily, you can find a beautiful Baroque church with the columns of a Greek temple perfectly merging together,” he said.

Because of its unique location, waves of culture came with travelers and conquerors throughout the centuries. Everyone who poured through the largest island in the Mediterranean, perched at the “toe” on the boot that is Italy’s land mass, left a unique imprint.

So, what does it mean to be Sicilian?

“In the end, I like to say Sicily is Parmesana,” Saladino said. “You have different layers – eggplant, tomato – what makes it taste so good is a bite of all the different ingredients.”

Sicily provided impeccable growing conditions for new agriculture to survive and thrive. The climate is hot and dry. It’s too hot for insects and too dry for molds. Which allows modern vineyards to use organic practices in the vineyard.

Soil types vary from east to west as does the terroir, which includes Mt. Etna – Europe’s largest active volcano – and frequent altitude changes as the terrain varies from rolling hillsides to mountain peaks. Saladino said the “mother rock,” a calcareous, ancient marine soil, is where the white-wine grape grillo is most comfortable.

Compared to the rest of Sicily, grillo is a relative newcomer. A cross between catarratto and moscato d’Alessandria, it was used mainly for Marsala production.

The Mandrarossa Grillo, Sicilia DOC Vendemmia 2021 ($16.99) is a medium-bodied white with aromas and flavors of Meyer lemon. It also had an almond paste note, as well. It’s a wine that fits perfectly between the high-acid, herbaceous flavors of sauvignon blanc and a buttery, creamy chardonnay that underwent malolactic fermentation.

“It was a peculiar way to deal with the wine,” said Saladino about how grillo was only used for Marsala. “It’s aromatic, has good structure and good sugar levels. In the past 20 to 30 years, we’ve realized how interesting it can be bottled by itself, and this expression has started a new era. It’s very resilient and productive. It adjusts to different soils well. I believe the best expressions are ones that come from calcareous soils.”

Like the multitude of cultures that converged on Sicily, the wine industry has an abundance of potential. Nero d’Avola has excelled, as well. It can vary from medium- to full-bodied, and has floral aromatics. On the lighter side, it’s reminiscent of a cool-climate syrah.

The Mandrarossa Terre del Sommacco, Sicilia DOC 2018 ($20) was a very light purple in the glass. It had aromas of roses and licorice, and was light and nimble due to its fresh acidity. There were plum and licorice flavors.

For years, Sicily sent their wines to other regions. If there was a tough growing season in the north, Sicilian wines and their ideal growing conditions could always be counted on to prop up a thin crop. Like Lodi in California or Paso Robles until it found its niche with Rhone varietals, Sicily’s grapes were the secret ingredient that saved vintages from more famous areas.

But, Italy’s largest wine region with 23 DOCs and a Consortium, founded in 2011, is ready to carve a path forward with its own identity.

“We produced mostly bulk wine for decades,” Saladino said. “We would send wine to Tuscany or Piedmont or even outside of Italy. Part of that is still here. But, little by little, in the 1980s and 1990s, we figured, ‘Wait a moment, we can make our own wine and be great and excellent, too.’ But, first of all, we had to fine-tune and adjust. We had to gain the history, the experience and the knowledge.

“An era of starting our own practice began,” he said. “This cooperative approach began to put small producers together, and focus on the wine. We already had great soil and richness. It was at this moment we put more effort and attention into the quality.”

Sicily is just getting started as a player on the fine-wine stage. Now is the time to jump in because quality is high and wine prices are still inexpensive.

“Sicily, for a long time in history, was the center of the world,” Saladino said. “It was a strategic spot for markets and control of the seas. Everyone wanted to come and control it.”

Sicilian winemakers and wine-grape growers have taken control, and the results are worth exploring.

• James Nokes has been tasting, touring and collecting in the wine world for several years. Email him at jamesnokes25@yahoo.com.