Collection: Sicily

Sicily is Italy's largest wine region measured by area, with around 330,000 acres under vine, and the island lies so far south that it is actually at a lower latitude than Tunisia. It is Italy's hottest and driest corner, where the rain usually fails to appear after February, and where strong winds and intense heat shape the landscape. At the same time, the northern and eastern reaches extend into the Apennine mountain ranges, where winter brings snow. That combination gives a remarkably wide scope for the wines we carry from the island.

Sicily has historically been Italy's largest wine producer measured by volume, but for a long time most of it was about powerful bulk wine for blending and concentrated must. Only a small part was bottled, and even less was classified as DOC. That picture has changed markedly. When the old latifondo system, and later the cooperatives, broke down around the turn of the millennium, a wave of private investment and quality-oriented producers followed. Between 1992 and 2002, production fell by around 40 percent, precisely because the focus shifted from quantity to quality.

The climate has its own advantages. The dry air means naturally low disease pressure from rot, while access to water via artificial lakes is one of the factors that sets limits on how far the vineyards can spread. Catarratto is the island's wholly dominant grape and covers almost 60 percent of the area. It is in fact Italy's second most planted variety and was previously used mostly for bulk and blending, but today it appears in far more ambitious white wines.

At Copenhagen Wine, Sicily forms a steady anchor in our Italian selection. If you want to delve into the more specific Sicilian expressions, you can explore our wines made from Nerello Mascalese and Carricante. We carry a broad range, from the uncomplicated and everyday-friendly to bottles for the curious wine lover who wants to understand what the light and wind of the south do to a wine.