Wines of the week: eight bottles from Sicily

It’s been more than 200 years since an entrepreneurial Briton, John Woodhouse, first began making a sweet wine in the town of Marsala in western Sicily – made from local grapes like grillo, it was fortified, like sherry and port, with grape spirit and became massively popular in Victorian and Edwardian times. While still a fine dessert wine – and, as with sherry, there are dry versions – marsala is often now known almost as much as a cooking ingredient, helping to produce unctuous meat sauces and rich sweet puddings.

And the wine with which the Italian island itself is now most associated within the minds of the domestic consumer is the very popular, medium-bodied red made from the nero d’avolo grape, while a lot of grillo production has gone into making attractive, zippy whites. Sicily has long moved on from being reliant on marsala and in recent years the largest Mediterranean island has by some distance outshone its neighbouring islands, such as Sardinia or Corsica, in terms of the quantity and variety of the wines it produces, helped by some of the best soils and larger areas available for cultivation.

And as well as nero d’avola and grillo, there are a host of other grapes and styles to be discovered, such as the aromatic, fragrant dry white Zibibbo Sicilia, Ottoventi 2017 (£10.95, thewinesociety.com) organically made from the local variant of the muscat grape, grown in the shadow of the wonderful medieval hilltop town of Erice in the northwest of the island and a lovely, refreshing aperitif.

The rich soils of the slopes around the still very active volcano of Etna in the northeast of the island are extraordinarily good – not to mention slightly risky – for growing grapes, giving depth and flavour to wines such as the peachy, full-bodied Etna Bianco Fondo Filara Nicosia 2017 (£12.50, winesociety.com), made mainly from the local carricante and cattaratto grapes and ideal with any robust fish dishes or the local favourite, pasta with sardines. Both are part of a current Wine Society promotion of a whole series of (mostly) gorgeous wines from smaller producers in Sicily (and Sardinia, of which more next week) just waiting to be discovered by domestic consumers.

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Sicily has also introduced non-native grapes, the so-called “international varieties” like shiraz, merlot and cabernet sauvignon and while these are usually competent, they are often not as interesting. However, try the full-bodied, apricot flavoured Fina Viognier Sicilia IGP 2017 (£12.90, tanners-wines.co.uk) although not as full-on as some French viogniers, it’s a very good match for lighter chicken or pork dishes. And one of several very decent Sicilian wines from Tanners.

When it comes to Sicilian reds, nero d’avola is often best served lightly chilled, particularly when young, to highlight the appealing black cherry fruit flavours, but the Black Gold Oro Nero d’Avola Appassimento 2017 (£9.99, majestic.co.uk) is made, Amarone style, with semi-dried grapes and is appropriately beefier, richer and ideal for your next barbecue. In contrast, the Wine Society also has the elegantly smooth Etna Rosso Carusu, Terrazze dell’ Etna (available as part of mixed 12-bottle case, £145 winesociety.com) made, again on the slopes of Etna, from 80 per cent nerello mascalese and 20 per cent nerello cappuccino. All fragrant, mineral red fruits, with a spicy underlying controlled power, tinged by a hint of oak; there is a hint of Burgundian pinot noir about it and is a great wine for lighter meats such as veal or pork escalopes. At the other end of the scale and definitely needing a decent chilling is the light-bodied, raspberry flavoured Tenute Nicosia Frappato (£9.95, winesociety.com) from the southeast of the island, which is one for a peppery tuna steak or goats cheese salad.

There is only a small amount of sparkling produced in Sicily, but one that uses up that spare grillo capacity is the refreshing, organic, Il Grillo di Santa Tresa Vino Spumante Brut (£12.99, vintageroots.co.uk) a lovely, summery celebration wine and a great alternative to prosecco. And what of marsala? It’s still widely available of course and for an introduction, try the luscious, figgy Martinez Marsala Superiore Riserva (£7.50 for 37.5cl, marksandspencer.com) made by a family firm in the business for many generations and a fine match to hard and blue cheeses and desserts, as well as for that vital pan de-glazing.

So much for Sicily – but what of the other main Mediterranean islands? Do they produce wines of note? We shall return to the subject next week. And please note – if you are interested in buying any of the Wine Society wines mentioned above, these are special purchases and may not stay on their books very long, particularly once the offer ends on 9 September.