Sicily: the cool Etna and the sunny Nero d'Avola
Island white and red wines, from €11.90Sicily doesn't make one wine; it makes two. On the southern slope of Etna, at an altitude of 700 meters, Nerello Mascalese produces pale-colored, taut reds with fine tannins. Everywhere else on the island, Nero d'Avola yields a dark, ripe, and generous wine that has almost nothing in common with the former.
This is the most useful distinction for choosing here, even before considering the vintage or the estate name. The zone table below indicates what each sector offers, from the Sambuca hills to the Madonie mountains. Our eleven cuvées range from €11.90 per bottle to €101.40 for a case of six.
Benanti - Nerello Cappuccio Terre Sicilian 2020
A precise and digestible Nerello Cappuccio from Etna, where volcanic freshness meets the elegance of red fruits.
Canteen Ermes - Masseria delle Stelle Primitivo 2023
A generous and velvety Primitivo from Puglia, which combines ripe fruit, sweet spices and Mediterranean warmth.
Feudi Del Pisciotto - Cerasuolo Di VittorIa G.Valli Nero d'Avola 2020
Mûre, poivre et cacao, le nero d'avola sicilien dans sa version la plus structurée.
Benanti - Nerello Cappuccio 2020
A 100% Nerello Mascalese from the southwest slopes of Etna, combining harmony and accuracy.
Luna Sicana - Nero d'Avola "A Zita cu Zitu" 2019
A Nero d'Avola on the freshness and minerality of the Sicilian terroir
Luna Sicana - Grillo 2021
A mineral and racy Grillo, worked in purity
Luna Sicana - Catarratto 2021
A beautiful expression of Cataratto, a native grape variety of Sicily
The four zones of our cellar, and what altitude changes in them
Sicily is a very large wine region, and our wines only cover a fraction of it. They are spread across four areas, from the volcano in the east to the mountains in the north. The common thread for most of them can be summed up in one word: altitude. Plainland vineyards are rare in this area.
| Area | Soils and Landforms | The style | In our cellar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Etna south face, 700 m | Volcanic soils, 40% slopes that prohibit any mechanization. | Pale red in colour, taut, with fine tannins. The freshness comes from the altitude and the day-night temperature difference, not the climate. | Tenuta Monte Ilice, Etna Rosso 2018 |
| Sambuca di Sicilia Lake Arancio, 300 to 600 m | South-east facing slopes, tempered by the nearby lake. | The island's sunny character without the heaviness: ripe fruit, smooth texture, the lowest prices on the shelf. | Cantina Cellaro, Lumà Grillo 2025 and Luma Nero d'Avola 2023 |
| Platani Valley Province of Agrigento | Silts and sandy soils deposited by the river, organic farming. | Indigenous grape varieties vinified unoaked, fragrant and made to be drunk young. | Luna Sicana, Grillo, Catarratto and Nero d'Avola |
| The Madonie Mountains north of the island, Valledolmo | Organic mountain viticulture, small parcels planted in an amphitheater. | Intense sun during the day, cool breezes at night: ripe wines that retain acidity and tension. | Castellucci Miano, Nero d'Avola 2024 and Miano Catarratto 2024 |
Etna is our sole volcanic address. Tenuta Monte Ilice offers two cuvées there, a red made from Nerello Mascalese and a white Carricante 2019, the latter currently out of stock.
Which dish with which bottle
The previous table classifies wines by origin. This one classifies them by use, which is often the real question on a Thursday evening in front of the cellar.
| The dish | What we're opening | Why | A bottle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appetizer, shellfish | A Grillo white | Citrus, salinity, no oak. The island's liveliest white grape. | Cantina Cellaro Lumà Grillo 2025, €11.90 |
| White fish, oily fish | A Catarratto white | More body than the Grillo, and an acidity that stands up to an oily fish. | Castellucci Miano Catarratto 2024, €101.40 for 6 |
| Grilled vegetables, vegetarian cooking | An organic white from the Platani Valley | The smoky taste of the vegetables calls for a fragrant, unoaked wine, not a white wine for laying down. | Luna Sicana Cataratto 2021, €56.70 for 3 bottles |
| Roast chicken, mushrooms | An Etna Rosso | A light and taut red, to be served chilled. It would be overpowered by rare meat. | Tenuta Monte Ilice Etna Rosso 2018, €29.90 |
| Lamb, roast beef | A Nero d'Avola from the plains | Dark fruit, round tannin, six months in oak barrels: the structure follows the red meat. | Cantina Cellaro Luma Nero d'Avola 2023, €16.90 |
| Game, spicy dishes | A high-altitude Nero d'Avola | The freshness of the Madonie mountains prevents the jam-like effect that rich dishes immediately betray. | Castellucci Miano Nero d'Avola 2024, €101.40 for 6 bottles |
| Soft cheeses | White or light red, as desired | Eight of our eleven cuvées bear this agreement: it's the most flexible in the department. |
Serve Etna wines at around 15°C, cooler than Nero d'Avola from the rest of the island. A Sicilian red served at room temperature in summer loses all its tension.
A bottle for every intention
Only vintages that can be shipped today are listed here. When the price shown is for a lot of three or a case of six, it is stated: for several domains, we no longer have single bottles.
A first Sicilian wine
A crisp, unoaked Grillo from the latest vintage. The cheapest way to find out if the island speaks to you.
Cantina Cellaro Lumà Grillo 2025 · €11.90Discover Etna
Nerello Mascalese born on an extinct crater, at 700 meters. Pale color, fine tannin, a freshness unexpected in Sicily.
Tenuta Monte Ilice Etna Rosso 2018 · €29.90Everyday Nero d'Avola
Black fruit, spices, round tannins after six months in barrel. Sicilian red as you'd imagine it, at a reasonable price.
Cantina Cellaro Luma Nero d'Avola 2023 · €16.90The same grape variety, in the mountains
Organic Nero d'Avola from the Madonie, ten months in neutral barrels. Tighter and straighter than its lowland cousins.
Castellucci Miano 2024 · €101.40 per case of 6An organic mountain white wine
Catarratto grown in an amphitheater around Valledolmo. Pineapple, pear, verbena, a touch of acidity that holds it all together.
Miano Catarratto 2024 · €101.40 per case of 6A little-known white grape variety
The Cataratto from the Platani Valley, organic, on sandy soils left by the river.
Luna Sicana Cataratto 2021 · €56.70 for 3A red that's already aged
2019 vintage: the fruit has integrated, the spices have come to the fore. Nothing to wait for, it's ready.
Luna Sicana A Zita cu Zitu 2019 · €66 for 3All our Nero d'Avola wines
The island's flagship red grape, brought together in a dedicated section.
The Nero d'Avola sectionSee all of Italy
Piedmont, Tuscany, Apulia, Veneto: the complete Italian section.
Our Italian wines
The island doesn't have one style but two
For a long time, Sicilian wine meant only one thing: hot, dark, thick, sold by the litre. That Sicily still exists, but it's not ours. The one we buy is found at high altitudes, on the volcano at 700 metres, in the Madonie mountains, or on the Sambuca hills between 300 and 600 metres. Altitude everywhere does the same job: it creates a temperature difference between day and night, and this difference keeps the acidity in the grape.
The rest follows. A mountain Nero d'Avola is not a lightened Nero d'Avola; it's a different wine, with the same black fruit but a backbone. And an Etna red is unlike either of them: pale, almost transparent, structured like a cool-climate wine, even though it grows on a Mediterranean volcano.
How do you choose
On altitude and perceived degree. A Sicilian wine that leaves your mouth warm and sweet after two sips will not last an entire meal, whatever its price.
And on the indigenous grape variety. Cabernet and Syrah are grown in Sicily, sometimes very well, but that's not what people come here for.
The Wandering Winemaker team
What we're being asked about Sicilian wines
What distinguishes an Etna wine from the rest of Sicily?
The soil and the altitude. Etna is an active volcano: its soils are made of ash and decomposed lava, and the vines climb much higher there than anywhere else on the island. Our Tenuta Monte Ilice cuvée grows at 700 meters, on 40% slopes where no machines can pass. The result is pale, taut reds with fine tannins, the opposite of the sunny Nero d'Avola from the lower areas.
Nero d'Avola, what is it?
The most planted red grape variety in Sicily, named after the town of Avola in the south-east of the island. It produces dark wines with notes of black cherry, plum and spices, with round tannins and low acidity when grown on plains. At higher altitudes, such as in the Madonie mountains, it retains significantly more freshness. We offer four cuvées made from this grape, also available in our Nero d'Avola section.
Which white grape varieties are found in Sicily?
Three are in our cellar. Grillo, the most common, produces a citrusy and saline white wine. Catarratto, cultivated on the island for centuries, has more body and a yellow fruit nose. Carricante, specific to Etna, is the tightest of the three and the rarest in our collection.
Are Sicilian wines too powerful?
That's the island's reputation, and it comes from the lowland wines. High-altitude vintages offer a different experience: the temperature difference between day and night slows down maturation and preserves acidity, resulting in wines that are ripe yet balanced. Most of our bottles come from vineyards located at 300 meters or more.
At what temperature should they be served?
Whites between 8 and 10 °C, taken out of the refrigerator a quarter of an hour before serving. Etna reds around 15 °C, they can handle half an hour in the fridge very well. Nero d'Avola around 16 °C: served at room temperature in summer, they can seem heavy when they are not.
Are these wines for laying down?
The white wines should be drunk within two to three years, while still fresh and fruity. The oak-aged Nero d'Avola wines keep for five to eight years without difficulty. The Etna reds are the ones that benefit most from aging: our Monte Ilice 2018 drinks very well today and has not yet reached its peak.
Are there any organic wines in this aisle?
Yes. Castellucci Miano works organically in the Madonie mountains, without herbicides or pesticides, and with entirely manual harvests. Luna Sicana also places organic practices and indigenous grape varieties at the heart of its project. The other cuvées are not certified.
Why are some vintages only sold in sets of three or six?
Because the bottle alone is sold out and we still have complete lots. The price shown is for the lot, never for a single bottle: €56.70 for three Luna Sicana Cataratto, €101.40 for a case of six Castellucci Miano. We indicate this everywhere on this page.