Sicily, Italy, known as the location for the classic movies "New Cinema Paradise" and "The Godfather" series. Sicily, with its nostalgic and beautiful scenery, is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Beautiful seaside, mountain scenery, and retro cityscape that enliven the story of the movie. It goes without saying that it makes people who actually visit feel graceful and goes very well with the situation of drinking wine.

Wine is produced in all 20 states in Italy, but of course many unique wines are produced in Sicily. Now, I would like to introduce the charm of Sicilian wine.

In addition to Sicily, Sicily includes many islands such as the Aeolian Islands and the Aegadian Islands.

Sicily, the largest area, floats southwest of Calabria, the tip of the Italian peninsula.

The southern part of the island is close to Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, located in the northern part of the African continent, and it may be hard to imagine because the south wind blowing from Africa called Sirocco carries the heat and the sand of the Sahara Desert. However, the climate is actually quite similar to Africa.

Sicily has hot summers and mild, dry winters, making it a perfect Mediterranean climate for wine. The soil is also diverse, such as lime soil suitable for wine cultivation, red soil containing iron, and volcanic soil, making it a blessed terroir.

Since Sicily is located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, it has historically been a land of many civilizations.

Even in wine, there is a theory that most varieties pass through the land of Sicily. Vitis vinifera grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, etc.) from the Middle East reached Sicily via Greece. After that, it is believed that they moved north as the ancient Roman Empire expanded.

During the postwar period of high economic miracle, the supply of bulk wine packed in huge tanks became popular. Famous brands have produced wines that are easy to drink and familiar to, and have attracted attention in the domestic and international markets.

From the latter half of the 1990s, medium-sized wineries aiming for high-quality wines appeared, and the Sicilian wine boom spread all over the world.

Since 2000, we have broken away from the international style, and many wines that can feel the terroir that values the individuality of the land have been made. Currently, it is a large production area along with Veneto and Puglia, which are the top production areas in Italy.

Introducing Marsala, a historic fortified wine, and Etna, which has been attracting attention in recent years, as representative wines of Sicily.

It is one of the world's four fortified wines (Note 1) made at the western end of Sicily.

Marsala is an Italian fortified wine with a deep and mellow aroma of fragrant caramel and wooden barrels. Developed by the British merchant John Woodhouse in 1773, it has spread around the world and is said to have contributed to the establishment of the Royal Navy's Admiral Nelson and the Kingdom of Italy, and was also loved by Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Marsala is divided into golden oro, amber ambra, and ruby rubio, and is further classified according to the amount of residual sugar, manufacturing method, and aging period.

For a while, it was mainly used as cooking liquor, but in recent years the quality has improved, and Marsala, which has a delicate and complex taste that can be enjoyed by itself, is now being produced.

(Note 1) Fortified wine is a wine with an increased alcohol content by adding high-alcohol distilled liquor such as brandy to the wine in order to improve its shelf life and give it a distinctive taste. Sherry in Spain, Port and Madeira in Portugal, and Marsala in Italy are called the world's four fortified wines.

Etna is a wine made in the vineyards that surround Etna volcano, located in the Middle East.

This region is at an altitude of 300 to 1200 meters, making it one of the cooler regions in Sicily, and produces wines with a strong acidity. Both red and white wines have a fresh, minerality taste.

White wine, which is mainly Carricante, has a strong acidity, and when aged, it becomes an elegant wine like Riesling.

Red wines have slightly different characteristics depending on their base grape variety: Nerello Mascalese is a pale wine with fresh acidity and gentle tannins, while Nerello Cappuccio is soft and medium in color.

In particular, Nerello Mascalese is a variety that is attracting attention from wine lovers around the world because of its high quality and character common to Pinot Noir.

The most cultivated black grapes in Sicily, it produces great quality red wines.

It is cultivated not only in Sicily, but also in Sardinia, which floats in the west, and is also called Calabrese.

The taste is sometimes compared to Shiraz in emerging countries, and is characterized by the aroma of black fruits and spices, and the sweetness and richness of ripe tannins.

It is made from a fast-drinking type that makes the most of the fruit taste to a long-term aging type that has a solid structure.

It is the second most cultivated variety after Nero d'Avola. A red variety representing Etna, it is also cultivated in Palermo, the capital of the state, and in the Agrigento region, which is famous for its archaeological sites.

The color is pale, but it has a gorgeous aroma of red fruits, fine tannins, and elegant acidity, and it has a noble taste that can be aged for a long time.

Due to its very elegant taste, it has been attracting attention in recent years as a substitute for Burgundy's Pinot Noir.

Sicily has fascinated many people with the birth of various masterpiece movies. Even if it is difficult to actually visit, there may be a way to enjoy Sicilian wine while enjoying a movie at home.

Please take a look at the unique Sicilian wine where you can feel the local wind and wonderful terroir.

<Reference> "2019 Sommelier Association Textbook" Japan Sommelier Association

Click here for a list of Sicilian wines