A Hotspot of Fresh Wines: Vittoria’s Compelling Paradox

In the swath of Vittoria valley’s vineyards in southeastern Sicily, between the town of Acate and the Hyblaean Mountains, oranges glowed at peak ripeness and temperatures hit 18 degrees Celsius when we visited in January and tasted more than 200 wines.

It is here that the revival of Cerasuolo di Vittoria – Sicily’s only DOCG – has brought renewed attention to this far-flung corner of Italy. Cerasuolo di Vittoria is the country’s southernmost appellation, sitting farther south than Tunis, in Northern Africa across the Mediterranean.

Vittoria can be punishingly hot, with growing-season temperatures extreme. “In 2017 we saw heat waves reaching 42 to 44 degrees Celsius, with nighttime temperatures still at 29,” said Mattia Giacomelli, the winemaker at the Santa Tresa winery.

Annual rainfall averages between 400 and 500 millimeters, with most of it falling outside the growing season. According to Giacomelli, though, “In dry years like 2024, we recorded barely 300 millimeters over the entire year.”

The terrain is largely flat, gently rising toward the Hyblaeans, with predominantly sandy soils.

And yet, despite the conditions, Vittoria produces some of Sicily’s freshest wines. Explaining why begins with geography. The Mediterranean lies just 15 kilometers away, sending cooling breezes inland each afternoon, while the Hyblaeans exert a moderating effect from the opposite side, creating airflow that tempers daytime heat.

The highest vineyards, which reach or exceed 400 meters above sea level, are found in the Chiaramonte zone, and they are primarily planted to white varieties, Elsewhere, the valley resembles a broad plateau, averaging around 200 meters above sea level.

Surface soils are largely sandy, sometimes tinged with clay and rich in iron oxides, underlain by limestone. These deep Pliocene soils provide structure and minerality. it was here that Giacomo Tachis – the architect of Italy’s modern wine renaissance – advised Paolo Panerai of Feudi del Pisciotto to plant pinot noir in the early 2000s.

If you doubt the freshness of Vittoria wines, consider this: “Without excessive fertilization, even reaching 13 percent alcohol is not a given,” said Arianna Occhipinti, who added that she also uses malolactic fermentation for all her whites.

From her humble beginnings in a garage winery to farming 40 hectares today, Occhipinti is one of the forces  driving the revival of Cerasuolo di Vittoria. Her Occhipinti Terre Siciliane Bianco di Contrada SM 2023 is a tense and vibrant oak-fermented white with plenty of lemon bush and chalky minerality. It goes from this chalky minerality when young to a more stony, Puligny-like depth as it matures.

Ultimately, Vittoria’s identity rests on its grapes.

If nero d’Avola is naturally suited to hot climates, frappato is defined by its exceptionally long growing season – the first to bud, the last to be harvested. It produces wines of remarkable transparency, balance and unexpected complexity.

Often reductive in youth, frappato benefits from decanting or generous glassware. Aromatically it is lifted and floral: dog rose and violet in warm years, wild strawberry and blood orange, sometimes with nutmeg spice. The tannins, derived from grape skins, are crisp, tactile and gently chewable.

According to Marco Parisi of Feudi del Pisciotto, Vittoria’s frappato typically reaches about 12.5 percent alcohol, with acidity at 5.80 and a pH of 3.5 in 2024.

“It has a large, loose cluster – unlike pinot noir,” Parisi said. “It’s the most modern variety in Sicily today in terms of style, food pairing and appeal to younger drinkers.”

Elsewhere in Sicily, frappato can be pale and skeletal. In Vittoria, however, lower yields elevate it. Yields must remain around 40 quintals per hectare, Occhipinti says: “Because beyond that, something is missing on the palate”.

Old vines add another dimension, as can be seen in the Occhipinti Terre Siciliane Vino di Contrada PT 2022 (PT stands for Pettineo vineyard). It was the most compelling wine in the tasting – layered with cinnamon, restrained blood orange, wild strawberry, peony and dried violet, underscored by savory depth, firm structure and a chewy finish.

Cerasuolo di Vittoria blends nero d’Avola and frappato. Once commonly 70-30, the proportions have shifted toward 60-40, and sometimes even 50-50. The appellation is evolving toward a fresher, more “al dente” style, where structure meets vibrancy.

Among the top examples are the Occhipinti Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico Grotte Alte 2020, a savory and engaging wine layered with cassis, prune, blood orange, caper bush and licorice. It’s a full-bodied, muscular yet balanced, finishing with graphite precision. Equally compelling is the Cos Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico delle Fontane 2021, a fresher expression showing red currant, leather and violet, almost balsamic in tone, compact and refined with supple fruit over firm structure.

Recent vintages have tested producers. The severe drought of 2024 reduced yields and sharpened concentration. In 2023, Occhipinti chose not to bottle her single-vineyard wines. The SM is more slender in 2024, but exceptional in 2023, particularly from Chiaramonte.

The 2023 vintage was marked by low yields, “with significant downy mildew, especially on nero d’Avola, hitting right at the beginning of June, when berries were peppercorn-sized and highly vulnerable,” Giacomelli explained. “In 2022, the wines were balanced even from an acidity standpoint.”

Taken together, Vittoria presents one of Sicily’s most compelling paradoxes: among the island’s hottest zones, yet producing some of its most vibrant, transparent and contemporary wines.

Its success is rooted equally in place and in people – in the sea breezes and limestone soils, but also in a generation of growers and winemakers who have learned not to fight their environment, but to listen to it.

– Aldo Fiordelli, Senior Editor

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. 

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