Sicily and Tasca d'Almerita. An oasis in the heart of the island.

A hot island with many faces

Sicily lies off the southern tip of Italy, close to Africa. It has a Mediterranean climate with plenty of sun, most rain in winter and dry growing seasons. Ripeness comes easily here and acidity is easily lost, so as the winemakers explain, their approach is the opposite of the north: they work by subtraction, holding back rather than pushing.

The island grows many native grapes. Nero d'Avola is the signature red, Grillo a popular white, and Nerello Mascalese has become the star of Mount Etna.

Regaleali and the Tasca family

A Lucio Tasca bought the land at Regaleali from a Spanish family in 1830. The estate was once around 1,200 hectares, but land reform took away some 700 of them, a loss that patriarch Lucio Tasca believes cost his father his life. Driving up from Palermo through barren country, visitors suddenly arrive at a green oasis, helped by what the family calls the first lake in Sicily, built by Lucio's grandfather.

Lucio's father, Giuseppe, traveled to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, came home inspired and created Rosso del Conte, one of the first serious single vineyard wines based on Nero d'Avola. Lucio later planted Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and other international grapes almost in secret, and their success abroad made the world look at Sicily again. See how his son Alberto, a former racing driver who disliked wine until he was 21, has refocused the estate on native grapes and elegance.

Nero d'Avola and Perricone

Nero d'Avola gives dark, concentrated, ripe black fruit with high tannin and good natural acidity, fuller than most reds from northern Italy. At Regaleali tradition called for one Perricone vine for every hundred of Nero d'Avola, adding tannic structure for aging. Lucio sums it up neatly: Perricone gives impact on the palate, Nero d'Avola gives elegance.

Find out why Alberto went back to aging in chestnut wood, 40 years after his grandfather first used it, and why the wood and fruit seem to fight for years before they find harmony.

Farming with nature

Regaleali is still run with the spirit of a farm. Alberto is fascinated by alberello, the bush vine system, with one plant per square meter producing less than a kilo of grapes. The team plants fava beans and herbs between the rows to feed the clay soils and keep moisture in through the hot summer, and they monitor the life in the top layer of soil to measure biodiversity.

The estate also keeps sheep for ricotta, which leads to one of the film's funniest moments about Sicily's most famous dessert.

Alberto also shows how closely the vines respond to the weather. After one very dry summer the vines simply paused their ripening, then started again when the September rain arrived. His lesson is to watch, taste the berries every day and never force the plant. With only 40 or 50 harvests in a lifetime, he says, every vintage has to be an experiment.

The pull of Etna

Mount Etna has pushed Sicily to the front of the wine world's attention. Its vineyards reach up to around 1,000 meters, where cool nights preserve acidity, and its volcanic soils vary with every eruption. Nerello Mascalese grown there is paler and more fragrant than Nero d'Avola, compared by some to Pinot Noir and by others to Nebbiolo for its firm tannins.

Watch to hear why Lucio believes Alberto can build something extraordinary on the volcano, and why the experts think Sicily's potential is still only half realized.

Go furtherWant to taste along? Find Tasca d’Almerita’s wines and where to buy them near you on Wine-Searcher.