Sicilian Wine and Food: An Offer You Can’t Refuse!

Ask an Italian what wine they consider to be best, and they will invariably point to a winery down the street or to a vineyard on the hillside adjacent to their village. This is a country around which wine and food are the central components of everyday life, and citizens are justifiably proud of what is grown in the fertile soil of this ancient land.

As a wine-stained graduate of Whatsamatta U, I am understandably partial to the vino made in Italy. As a matter of fact, what I love most about Italian wine is its tremendous diversity. Within the geographic confines of its 20 states, Italy produces a virtual sea of wine from a dizzying array of grapes. The most famous wine states are Tuscany in north-central Italy and Piedmont in the northwest. In Tuscany, the great wines of Brunello di Montalcino and Ornellaia share the stage with the ubiquitous Chianti, and whites such as Vernaccia Di San Gimignano. In Piedmont, the prestigious vines of Barolo and Barbaresco (made from the Nebbiolo grape) reign supreme, and are joined by Barbera and Merlot along with crisp whites such as Arneis and Cortese Di Gavi. Both of these regions are in the northern part of the country where the wine produced is considered to be the best.

But what about the wines of the south and, more specifically, of Sicily? In the recent past, the cognoscenti would regularly heap praise on the wines of northern Italy, while those south of Rome were, at best, marginalized, and those of Sicily were dismissed as barely drinkable. Unfortunately, when most of us ruminate on Sicily, we conjure up images of the Mafia or Don Vito Corleone – a literary invention of the late American novelist Mario Puzo in his book "The Godfather." To butcher a line from that storied work: Sicily made me an offer I couldn't refuse - great food and wine!

Ask any wine-knowledgeable person about Sicily and most will mention Corvo, the decent, but pedestrian, label that includes both white and red wines blended from obscure Sicilian grapes. But that was then and this is now! On a trip to Sicily last summer, I experienced the incredible cuisine and surprisingly superb wines of that land just off the southern Italian mainland. The food, of course, is influenced by the sea which surrounds the island, and by the cornucopia of herbs, vegetables and fruits – some of which (like rosemary) grow wild in the fields and on hillsides. We spent our entire five days in and around Taormina, a resort area in southern Sicily in the shadow of towering Mount Etna, an 11,000-foot active volcano. The delicious and fresh pastas were dressed with an assortment of seafood such as mussels, razor clams, swordfish, shrimp and calamari, and flavored with lemon, rosemary, garlic and other locally-grown herbs and vegetables.

To wash down all this wonderful food, my wife and I, joined by four hedonistic friends, consumed just about every type of wine produced in Sicily. The most famous indigenous red made there is called Nero d’Avola, a fragrant, cherry and dark fruit-flavored wine produced in various styles from light to very concentrated.

But what really surprised and pleased my palate was a 1999 Planeta Syrah (not yet available here). This Sicilian wine had wonderful richness and concentration with black pepper spice and lively acidity that married unbelievably well with the grilled and rosemary-scented rack of lamb we consumed at Casa Gruno, a gourmet restaurant in the heart of Taormina.

There are a few Sicilian wines available locally that give you a hint of the quality enhancements being made in Sicily. You might try the 2005 Pinocchio ($12 -- see the telltale 'nose' of this brand on label at right) which is a Nero d’Avola red that is made in a bright, fruit-forward style, or the more complex 2005 Planeta La Segreta ($18 ) that blends Nero d’Avola with Merlot and Syrah to produce a deeper, fuller-bodied wine. Another favorite of mine is the cleverly-named Fourplay ($14) which is a blend of four grapes including the above-mentioned Nero d’Avola.

Sicily also produces delicious Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon which are sometimes blended with Nero d’Avola . These wines are most likely available only in “big city” wine shops. Native white grape varieties such as Inzolia and Carricante are regularly blended with Chardonnay and sometimes Viognier to produce wonderful accompaniments to the fresh seafood dishes. Crisp, with melon and citrus flavors, these wines are not only delicious they are refreshing.