The viticultural tradition in Sicily is ancient, dating to the Greek colonists. The terroir is also extremely varied. The dominant geographic feature is Mount Etna in the region’s Northeastern corner (near Catania)—Europe’s most active volcano, its regular eruptions regularly cast a cloud of ash across the entire island. The interior is extremely hilly and difficult to traverse, leaving much of the wine production  concentrated alongside four main coastal zones — Faro and Etna in the Northeast, Siracusa and the “Baroque Towns” of Vittoria et al in the Southeast, Agrigento at the South, and Trapani or Marsala at the West. Wine is also produced near the capital city, Palermo, especially near the resort area of Monreale.

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Sicily is currently experiencing a winemaking renaissance. There has been much investment in the Etna DOC from across the world of wine, making it and nearby Faro the new “hot-spot” (no pun intended) for Italian wine. The rest of the island is enjoying similar, increased scrutiny — the wines of Cerasuolo di Vittoria (Sicily’s only DOCG) have been gradually transformed into truly opulent expressions of the region’s main grape, Nero d’Avola. The production of white wines (Catarratto, Grillo) near Alcamo are also noteworthy.