In the last few years the quality of Sicilian wines has steadily improved
due to better vine growing techniques and new wine ageing methods.
Vineyards in Sicily were long bound to the production of strong wines
that were used for blending.
Vine growing,
as indeed Sicily itself, is dividev into three major areas;
as follow,
western Sicily with the famous wines produced in Marsala;
north-eastern vineyards and the wines produced on Etna,
and lastly,
the southern eastern wines produced in Ragusa’s area.
This land is perfect for vine growing thanks to the composite
nature of the soil a and warm and windy climate,
which favor the best output with minimum actions by man.
The local vine growers highlights this aspect to underline the quality
of their products.
Sicily, the first wine producer in Italy
Being rich in natural resources and extremely sunny,
it is no wonder Sicily,
with its Roman and Arab inheritance,
ranks first in Italy for yearly wine production (7 million hectoliters – more than 154
million gallons).
Under the present circumstances,
it is hard to believe that Sicily had been producing strong wines
only for blending until a few years ago.
As a matter of fact,
until the 1950s weak wines were strengthen by using wines from Sicily.
Then a dramatic change occurred in a matter of a few decades.
First,
better growing techniques (with a more careful selection of vine stocks)
and the introduction of a thermo-conditioned wine-making process
led to the wine no longer being sold by the measure,
but in bottles (thus quality instead of quantity).
The second change,
which is still on-going,
is the attempt to boost the production of Sicilian quality red wines.
The latest bet of Sicilian vine growers and their endeavor is
evidenced by big wine companies from northen Italy
to invest capitals in Sicily.