Grape variety
Nero d’Avola
Nero d’Avola, Sicily’s most important red grape, named after Avola: origin, styles from fruity to powerful, where it grows and what to eat with it.
- Colour
- Red
- Origin
- South-eastern Sicily, around the town of Avola near Syracuse
- Main regions
- Sicily (about 15,000 hectares, the island’s most planted red); small amounts in Australia and California
- Typical aromas
- Blackberry, plum, black cherry, pepper; soft tannins, a warm body
- Classic pairing
- Grilled meats, aubergine dishes, tomato sauces, aged pecorino
- Synonyms
- Calabrese (from the Sicilian Calavrisi, “from Avola”)
Nero d’Avola is Sicily’s most important red grape and, with about 15,000 hectares, the most planted red variety on the island. The name means “the black one of Avola” and points to the small town of Avola in the south-east, in the province of Syracuse, where the grape is traditionally at home. Its older name, Calabrese, is misleading: it is regarded as an Italianisation of the Sicilian Calavrisi, “from Avola”, and not as a reference to Calabria.
The grape loves heat and copes well with drought, which makes it a natural for the hot south of Sicily. The wine is deep ruby to purple and shows aromas of blackberry, plum and black cherry, with pepper and, at good ripeness, sweet spice. On the palate it feels warm, round and powerful, with soft tannins and rather moderate acidity, which makes it approachable at once. Picked too ripe it turns heavy and jammy; higher, cooler sites in the island’s interior and restrained yields bring more freshness and tension.
Nero d’Avola is stylistically versatile. Young and simple it brings fruit and warmth to the glass; raised in oak it can become dense and spicy and age well. It is also an excellent partner. In Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily’s only DOCG (since 2005), it makes up 50 to 70 per cent beside 30 to 50 per cent Frappato: Nero d’Avola supplies colour, body and structure, Frappato perfume and lightness. It also turns up in blends with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Quality areas include the district around Noto and Pachino in the south-east and the hills around Vittoria, home of Cerasuolo.
Outside Sicily the grape plays a small role; it is found in small quantities in Australia, California and South Africa. At the table it goes with what is served in Sicily: grilled food, lamb, sausages, aubergine dishes such as pasta alla Norma and caponata, tomato sauces and aged pecorino. Served at 16 to 18 degrees it shows its fruit at its best; simple qualities also take a little more chilling. Anyone who wants to get to know Sicilian red wine does well to start with a varietal Nero d’Avola and then try a Cerasuolo di Vittoria: the comparison shows how much room this grape offers.