Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, the southernmost of the Italian landscape. It is surrounded by three oceans: the Ioanian, the Tyrrhenian and the Mediterranean. Wine has been made here for over 3,000 years, with Sicilian wine even featuring in Homer’s Odyssey, when the Cyclops got drunk on it.

A consistently sunny climate, reliably low rainfall and drying wind contribute to Sicily being ideal for vine growth. Unfortunately, these factors, coupled with government subsidies supporting higher yields, has, until the 1990’s, led to the over production of wine, at the expense of quality. As a result, Sicily had the undeserved reputation of being a region of poor quality wine.

In recent years, the island has undergone a viticultural renaissance – industrial vineyards were replaced with low-yield vines, by a new generation of producers passionate about showcasing Sicily’s indigenous grapes, such as Nero D’Avolo.