Cerasuolo di Vittoria
Hot Mediterranean
Sicily's only DOCG: a bright, cherry-scented red blend of Nero d'Avola and Frappato from the island's flat, limestone south-east.
Overview
About Cerasuolo di Vittoria
Centred on the town of Vittoria in Sicily's south-east, this is where Nero d'Avola is blended by law with the lighter, more floral Frappato, in a wine that's paler and fresher than most Sicilian reds. It was Sicily's first and, for a long time, only DOCG.
A newer generation of growers around Vittoria, working with minimal intervention and often certified organic, has drawn attention back to the wine and to the surrounding countryside more broadly.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria is marked on the map.
Italy
Shaded: Ragusa. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Hot Mediterranean
Hot and dry, moderated by proximity to the sea on Sicily's southern coast; the flat, open terrain gives less relief from summer heat than Etna's altitude.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Sandy limestone ("sabbie di Vittoria") over a red-clay subsoil, well-drained and reflective, helping ripen fruit evenly.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
COS
A founding estate of the appellation's modern, organic-farmed revival.
Arianna Occhipinti
A leading young producer working organically around Vittoria.
Valle dell'Acate
One of the zone's larger, long-established estates.