The ancient culture of Sicily is amazing. It is the largest island in the Mediterranean and has always been of great strategic importance in that part of the world. One of the principle reasons behind it being the most conquered country in human history, the Greeks, Byzantines, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, Moors, Normans, Aragonese, Spanish, French and Germans just to name a few. With them came their culture, art, food and architecture.  Sicily has also been known for its agriculture and rich volcanic soil. The Greeks cultivated olives and wine there. Wine has been dated in Sicily as far back as 3000 BC.  Up until very recently, in my opinion, wines from Sicily were for the most part, not taken very seriously, usually over ripe and very one dimensional.  It was a challenge to find a consistent wine of quality. They were cheap in price but I still felt not worth the bother for the most part. In the last 4 years or so, Sicilian wines have made a dramatic rise in quality, depth and structure. A great deal of investment has taken place as well as modern wine making techniques have made their way south and the result is still great priced wines, however, the level of quality is amazing.

One of the native grapes that has recently come back on the scene from Sicily is the Nero d’Avola. I realize it is not as well known as the international grapes of Chardonnay, Merlot or Pinot Noir. However, it is not to be missed. Pronounced “Neh-roe Dah-voe-lah” and translated “The black (grape) of Avola,” this grape makes a rich, perfumed and velvety red wine that’s easy to drink but that can take a bit of aging, works well in blends with other grapes, and can benefit from (but does not require) the careful use of oak. In Sicily, a wine-rich land where the locals have as many words related to wines and grapes as the Eskimos allegedly have for snow, Nero d’Avola is also called “Calabrese,” a synonym that for years prompted the experts to assume that the variety was originally imported from Calabria on the mainland. But that’s not so, “The synonym Calabrese is likely to be an ‘italianization’ of ancient vernacular name of Nero d’Avola, being ‘Calaurisi,’ which literally means ‘coming from Avola’.”

Avola, as it happens, is a wine-growing village in Southeastern Sicily, where the variety evolved through selection by vine growers centuries ago, and from where it has spread throughout the island. For generations it was used primarily to make strong, neutral red wine that was shipped throughout Europe to be used – often surreptitiously – to add color and weight to lighter reds, prompting some French producers to nickname it “le vin médecine.”  As recently as the 1980’s, plantings of Nero d’Avola declined In Sicily as many winemakers changed for more international varietals thought to be better for increasing sales. But now it is starting to get great attention.

We feature many Nero d’Avola wines at Zola wine & Kitchen, and Potenza.  I found a really great cooperative in western Sicily called Cantina Corbera. They have been around since 1972 and have about 900 growers throughout the hills of the Belice Valley located in the municipality of Montevago and Santa Margherita di Belice, in the province of Agrigento, and Contessa Entellina, in the province of Palermo. They grow many different varietals from the native grapes of Sicily Nero d’Avola, Insolia and Catarratto to more international varietals as Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Merlot. They are  high quality wines at very reasonable price points. We will be featuring Cantina Corbera wines in our tasting on March 10^th at Zola Wine & Kitchen. Come discover this ancient land and enjoy some fun and exciting wines from where different cultures have met and assimilated over the centuries, like multicolored tassels in a mosaic.

Salute!