Nero d’Avola Wine Guide

Nero d’Avola is the king of the red grape varieties of Sicily, thanks to its qualities of elegance, sumptuousness and character. It is a massive but velvety red, with depth, warm but not explosive fruit and splendid aromas of Mediterranean scrub, earth and eucalyptus.

Drawing up an organoleptic profile of Nero d’Avola is not so simple: all of Sicily is covered with Nero d’Avola, the climatic conditions change radically and even the styles are different. You can find fruity and simple wines to drink within a couple of years and others instead rich in extract, which matures for years in wood to age with elegance.

The fact is that the salient features are the Mediterranean balsamic aromas-flavors, eucalyptus, a certain basic austerity, the fruit can be ripe, but it is never a fruity bomb in the Bolgheri-Super Tuscan style. Nero d’Avola is a sumptuous, balanced but extremely dry wine, a wine that is thirsty, you can perceive the flavors of the hottest Sicily, the sun beating relentlessly with the sea breeze that howls in the distance. It is not an arid wine, but don’t expect so much softness.

Production areas

We find it throughout Sicily, apart from Etna, the exclusive domain of Nerello Mascalese, even if the elective homeland is obviously the area of ​​Avola, in the Ragusa area, where paired with Frappato it gives rise to Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the wines most interesting on the island.

History of Nero d’Avola

Until a few years ago it was called Calabrese, but not because it came from Calabria, but only because in Sicilian dialect it means from Avola, see the words Calea-Aulisi, the grape of Avola. The first written sources that speak of Calabrese date back to the late 1500s, however, it was only from the early 1900s that it became Nero d’Avola. For centuries it has been exported as a blending grape to give strength and color to Piedmontese, Tuscan and French wines, but today, thank goodness, the practice of producing it in purity to enhance its qualities of elegance is increasingly rooted.

Surely we are still at the beginning, splendid beginnings towards a more conscious and targeted production, where more than one terroir will be tested to see what style and intensity this noble red wine will be able to achieve. Needless to say, Nero d’Avola is the king of Sicily, the one that can ferry the region out of a somewhat anonymous production at the moment, but which has an explosive potential equal to that of Aglianico, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. So let’s drink some Nero d’Avola and wander around the Sicilian cellars, which have so much to offer, not only views and warmth but also great wines.

Organoleptic characteristics of Nero d’Avola

The bouquet is enveloping but austere with red fruit such as plums, cherries in alcohol and berries. There is no lack of withered flowers, sweet spices, very fine earthy notes reminiscent of licorice and rhubarb and then the call of the sea with iodine, musk and the typical scents of pine and eucalyptus. Everything is declined with strength, but it is never redundant, on the contrary, it is direct and very clean.

What does Nero d’Avola taste like?

The taste is warm, with well-modulated acidity, and powerful structure, but with fine tannins, it is never rude and there is a certain dry and red-hot heat in the background, hidden under the balsamic and woody flavors. Balance, intensity and depth are excellent, it is not a thin wine, but do not expect muscles and jam, but finesse and harmony.

Nero d’Avola food pairings

If it is young, fruity and vintage, its marked qualities of lightness and aromaticity make it perfect even with fish-based preparations, such as Messina-style swordfish. If, on the other hand, you uncork an aged and structured bottle, combine it with black truffle risotto, Passatelli with Parmigiano fondue and truffle, bucatini all’amatriciana, roast beef, gnocchi.