Nero d'Avola
Nero d'Avola is the most important red grape of Sicily. The name means the black one from Avola, a small town in the southeast of the island. The wine is dark and juicy, full of ripe fruit, with soft tannins and a spicy character.
Nero d'Avola and related wines
Nero d'Avola is the pride of Sicily. We have a dedicated page about the island, Italian wine, and other sunny red wines.
Red wine
The big story of red wine: the grapes, oak aging, and the right temperature.
About Red wine →The grape of sunny Sicily
Nero d'Avola has been grown in Sicily for centuries and is the island's most widely planted red grape. It originally comes from the southeast, around the city of Avola in the province of Syracuse, but is now grown across the entire island. In Sicily, it is also known as calabrese. For a long time, much of the harvest was sent elsewhere as full-bodied wine to give lighter wines more color and strength. In recent decades, Sicilian wineries have increasingly been making their own pure wines from it.
The grape thrives in heat and dryness, and you can taste it: plenty of color, ripe fruit, and a full flavor. Depending on the winemaker, you get a fresh, fruity wine to drink young, or a full-bodied wine that has matured in oak. The label often says DOC Sicilia. In an appassite style, such as Riporta, the grapes remain on the vine extra long and dry out slightly. This produces a richer, softer wine. Nero d'Avola is also the basis of Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily's only DOCG, in which it is blended with frappato.
In short
Three bottles, from fresh to full-bodied
Gall & Gall has three Nero d'Avola wines, all three from Sicily. Together, they beautifully demonstrate how differently this grape can express itself.
Planeta La Segreta Nero d'Avola
From the Sicilian winery Planeta. Plum, cocoa, pomegranate, and a hint of spice. The grapes come from the family's first vineyard, a walled garden with fruit trees, flowers, and vines.
Riporta Nero d'Avola Appassite
The grapes remain on the vine for fifteen extra days before being harvested. This produces an especially rich, ripe, and soft wine.
Tasca d'Almerita Lamùri Nero d'Avola
From the Sicilian winery Tasca d'Almerita. Cherries, eucalyptus, cinnamon, and licorice; complex and intense.
From Etna to Marsala: on our Sicily page, you can read about the other wines produced on the island.
Ripe cherries, plums, and a hint of spice
Dark fruit
Ripe cherries, plums, and blackberries, often with hints of cocoa, licorice, or black pepper.
Juicy and full-bodied
Plenty of fruit and a full flavor, with soft to medium-firm tannins and fresh acidity that keeps the wine lively.
Warm and spicy
Herbs, spices, and sometimes a hint of vanilla from the oak. An appassite-style wine finishes softer and riper.
Flavor profile of an average Nero d'Avola. A full-bodied bottle such as Lamùri scores higher in power.
How to serve Nero d'Avola
Slightly below room temperature, in a large glass, and preferably with food.
At 16 to 18 degrees
Serve a full-bodied Nero d'Avola at around 17 to 18 degrees. A fresh, fruity bottle can be served slightly cooler, at around 15 to 16 degrees. On a warm summer evening, feel free to chill the bottle briefly in the refrigerator.
More about wine temperature →Let it breathe
A young, full-bodied Nero d'Avola opens up when you pour it into a decanter half an hour beforehand. You can pour a fresh bottle straight away.
Decanters →Young or more mature
Most Nero d'Avola is best enjoyed within a few years of the harvest. A complex wine can be aged longer. Store the bottle on its side, somewhere cool and dark.
To the bottles →Nero d'Avola at the table
Nero d'Avola pairs well with Italian and Sicilian cuisine: tomato, eggplant, herbs, and grilled meat.
Pizza and pasta
Pizza, pasta alla norma with eggplant and tomato, or spaghetti with meatballs.
Lasagna and stews
Lasagna, caponata, a tomato-based stew, or a casserole.
Red meat
Beef, leg of lamb, grilled sausage, or game.
Hard cheeses
Pecorino, Parmigiano and other aged hard cheeses.
The right glass for Nero d'Avola
A large red wine glass gives the fruit room to breathe. For a full-bodied bottle, the bowl can be taller and larger. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about Nero d'Avola
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Buy Nero d'Avola
Want the bottle at home right away? Order Nero d'Avola online from Gall & Gall.
Planeta La Segreta Nero D'Avola
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