Terre Siciliane

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• Strongly contrasting orography: mountainous in the north, hilly in the centre-south, the Iblean plateau to the SE, and volcanic terrain to the E.
• Tyrrhenian coast between Cefalù and Messina: average rainfall 800 mm/year; upper Ionian coast up to 900 mm/year.
• Northern slope of Etna: precipitation 600–800 mm at lower elevations, exceeding 1,200 mm at higher altitudes; the SW-facing slope is the driest.
• Inland Sicilia and low-lying hills (TP, PA, AG, CL): hot, arid climate with annual rainfall as low as 400 mm and summer highs reaching 29 °C.

• Viticultural tradition documented as early as the Phoenician period (9th–4th century BC): transport amphorae and mixing vessels attest to the wine trade.
• Archaeological finds (ampeloliths, wine amphorae, Dionysiac coins) and Greek and Latin sources confirm the antiquity of Sicilian viticulture.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-IT-A0810
• Official trade body site — Assovini Sicilia