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Wine region

Sicily

Sicily is a wine region in Italy, home to 365 wineries, producing red, rose, white wines.

Sicily at a glance: roughly split red/white; wines range from IGP to DOCG.
On this page

Sicily's 365 wineries make roughly equal red and white wine; Merlot is the most common single-grape bottling; wines carry DOC, DOCG, IGP designation.

About the Sicily region

    Location
    In the early modern era western Sicily developed strong mercantile ties with England.
    Climate
    Sicily’s vineyards have faced recurrent drought and heat in recent years.
    Soils
    Vineyards occupy hills, coastal plains and volcanic slopes, with a mosaic of soils and exposures that produce distinct wine styles.
    Distinctive
    The combination of elevation, volcanic sands from different lava flows and marked diurnal ranges produces wines that age well and show site specificity in both colours.

Region facts sourced from Wikipedia contributors, "Viticulture in Sicily", Wikipedia, revision 1362200167, retrieved 2026-07-11. (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International).

Most common single-grape wines

When Sicily wines are made from a single grape (rather than a blend), these are the most common:

Wine profile

Sicily is roughly split, making substantial red (52%) and white (41%) wine.

1,925 distinct Sicily wines tracked, spanning the colours and styles below.

  • Red963 · 52%
  • White751 · 41%
  • Rose140 · 8%

Types: Marsala, Sparkling, Still.

Representative Sicily wines

Selected from stable product-to-region relationships for diversity — not a claim that these are the region's best wines.

  • Bonaccorsi — ValCerasa Diecidecilitri Nerello Mascalese
  • Baglio Gibellina — U Passimiento
  • Federico Curtaz — Gamma
  • Colomba Bianca — Quarantanni Rosso Riserva
  • Tenuta Fenice — Nero d'Avola
  • Cusumano — Sagana
  • Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen — Susucaru Rosato
  • Marco de Bartoli — Pietranera

Sub-regions & appellations

Within Sicily, these appellationsA legally-defined smaller growing area within a wine region, often with its own grapes and rules. are smaller growing areas, often with their own character:

  • Terre Siciliane
  • Sicilia
  • Etna Rosso
  • Etna Bianco
  • Marsala
  • Etna Rosato
  • Noto
  • Cerasuolo di Vittoria
  • Salina
  • Pantelleria
  • Menfi
  • Vittoria

Quality designations

Wines here span quality tiers from everyday IGP to the strictly-controlled DOCG — you'll find both accessible and prestige bottles.

  • DOCAn Italian controlled-origin designation — sets the region, grapes and rules a wine must follow.
  • DOCGItaly's strictest wine quality tier — guarantees origin, permitted grapes and production method, and is government-tested.
  • IGPEU Protected Geographical Indication (Indication Géographique Protégée) — a regional wine label, broader than AOP.
  • IGTA looser Italian designation for regional wines with more freedom than DOC — often good value.

Italy wine designations

DOC
DOC is an Italian traditional term used to designate wine with protected designation of origin (DOP) status.
DOCG
DOCG is an Italian traditional term used to designate wine with protected designation of origin (DOP) status.
IGP
IGP denotes the EU protected geographical indication scheme for food and wine, linking a product’s quality, reputation or other characteristic to geographical origin.
IGT
IGT is the Italian traditional term used to designate wine with protected geographical indication (IGP) status.
PDO
PDO is the European Union protected designation of origin category.
Understanding the wine data
Designation
The protected-origin or administrative category associated with the wine, interpreted using country-aware rules. The same abbreviation can mean different things in different countries, so we only show the meaning approved for that country.
How this ranking is built

Producers are included when WhatDrink has a canonical producer-to-region relationship supported by the catalogue data. Display order may use represented wine count and relationship confidence to provide useful coverage; it is not a ranking of winery quality, prestige, production volume or critical acclaim.

Representative wines are selected from products with a stable relationship to this region, with preference for clear producer identity and a useful spread of producers, wine styles and designations. Inclusion is not an editorial score and does not mean these are the region’s best wines.

Explore Sicily

Ways to browse Sicily — each count is the size of that specific collection (a subset of the 1,925 wines tracked above):

  • Red Sicily (152)
  • White Sicily (79)

How to choose a good Sicily wine

For everyday drinking, IGP bottles are the accessible choice; for something special, DOCG signals the region's most tightly-controlled, prestige wines.

FAQs

Where is Sicily?
In the early modern era western Sicily developed strong mercantile ties with England.
What do the designation terms on Sicily wines mean?
DOC: DOC is an Italian traditional term used to designate wine with protected designation of origin (DOP) status. DOCG: DOCG is an Italian traditional term used to designate wine with protected designation of origin (DOP) status. IGP: IGP denotes the EU protected geographical indication scheme for food and wine, linking a product’s quality, reputation or other characteristic to geographical origin. IGT: IGT is the Italian traditional term used to designate wine with protected geographical indication (IGP) status. These terms describe geographical or regulatory categories; they do not by themselves guarantee that one producer or bottle is better than another.
How are wineries and producers selected for Sicily?
Producers are included when WhatDrink has a canonical producer-to-region relationship supported by the catalogue data. Display order may use represented wine count and relationship confidence to provide useful coverage; it is not a ranking of winery quality, prestige, production volume or critical acclaim.
How are representative Sicily wines selected?
Representative wines are selected from products with a stable relationship to this region, with preference for clear producer identity and a useful spread of producers, wine styles and designations. Inclusion is not an editorial score and does not mean these are the region’s best wines.
How much wine data does WhatDrink have for Sicily?
The current regional catalogue contains 1927 linked wines from 365 linked producers. Counts describe WhatDrink catalogue coverage and may change as source data is refreshed.

Regional data is aggregated from wine directory and product-catalogue sources; grape and style associations reflect characteristic varieties and may vary by producer and vintage.