Surpassing Expectations: New Releases from Sicily

BY ERIC GUIDO | SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

I must give credit where credit is due. After many years of tasting Sicilian wines, I take significantly more pleasure in the work than ever before. Granted, tasting 500+ wines from even the world's greatest regions is daunting, but that work becomes less taxing when the wines excite your palate and your imagination. However, it goes beyond that because, in this case, I get the feeling that Sicily has grown up. It has matured. Almost as if the proverbial rowdy kids, represented by the vast number of smaller wineries with quality levels all over the board, have started to get their acts together. Producers began taking inspiration from the combination of elder statesmen, represented by the larger wineries that push the envelope of quality, or artisanal producers that shone the spotlight back on Sicily after so many decades of negative stereotypes. I remember tasting through portfolios five or ten years ago that failed to move the needle or left me nonplussed. Now, revisiting that same producer’s wines, I often find myself overly impressed, which provides a level of satisfaction that’s hard to explain. 

Planeta's Buonivini's vineyard in Noto.

The modern-day Sicily has learned to communicate much better than in the past. It has listened to what consumers have been demanding: cleaner practices, a focus on the vineyards, more serious wines, organic or biodynamic principles and less dependence on over-ripe fruit and overuse of oak. Yet, at the same time, the wines haven’t lost their Sicilian flavor. A zesty and fun Grillo can still be found at a remarkable price point, but now it’s more complex and with a better balance of minerality. A dark and rich Nero d’Avola still pairs perfectly with a slice of sfincione (traditional Sicilian pizza). Yet, that same bottle can now be taken away from the dinner table and still impress with its ability to communicate terroir or even placed in the cellar and allowed to mature for years to come. These are just two examples, but there are many more. The fact is that when tasting through a portfolio of Sicilian wine today, there is so much to like. The diversity of varieties alone is thrilling to consider, exciting, resetting and invigorating the palate in a way that few other regions can match. Not to mention Sicily’s success with international varieties as well. Sicilian Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah can stand shoulder to shoulder in blind tastings of Bordeaux, Super Tuscans or the Rhône, as well as Chardonnay that I’d place next to White Burgundy or some of my favorites from Oregon. The best part is that no matter how well the wines have emulated the qualities of these varieties from other principal regions, they remain uniquely Sicilian. 

Plainly stated, modern-day Sicilian wine has become one of the world's most interesting, high-quality, yet value-driven categories. That’s not to say there aren’t still wines that leave me unimpressed or scratching my head. There are plenty, but their numbers seem to diminish with each passing year. And let’s face it: every wine-producing region on Earth has lackluster producers or those that don’t seem to get it. Today, however, there's significantly less risk in buying Sicilian wine, and the reward is a world of tremendous diversity. 

The complex soils of Gulfi's Bufalffi vineyard contain limestone, gravel, fossils, black and red clay, iron and volcanic rocks.

Sicily’s Extreme Diversity