Sicily: Appellations, Grapes and Production

Sicily is a region of Italy and works the country's second largest vineyard by area. The Osservatorio Vitivinicolo ed Olivicolo-oleario of IRVO, the Istituto Regionale del Vino e dell'Olio, puts the Sicilian vineyard at 96,903 hectares in 2024 on AGEA/Inventario vitivinicolo data, about 14 percent of the national area, behind Veneto at 103,504 hectares and ahead of Puglia at 90,882 hectares. The same series shows the Sicilian vineyard falling continuously from 138,019 hectares in 2000 to 97,064 hectares in 2018, dropping below 100,000 hectares for the first time in 2016, then rising slightly across 2019 to 2024. IRVO records 2024 production of 2,746,000 hectolitres of wine and must, against a 2021 to 2024 average of 3,413,000 hectolitres, and ranks Sicily fourth among Italian regions for wine and must production. Sicily's quality-wine framework is run under the EU protected designation system and policed regionally. Twenty-four Sicilian wines are recognised as DOP, one of them the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG and the other 23 DOC, and 7 are recognised as IGT or IGP in the European nomenclature. IRVO, established in 1950 with its head office in Palermo and branch offices at Alcamo, Marsala and Milazzo, has been the public control and certification authority for all of them since 2012, an appointment last renewed by ministerial decree no. 318212 of 16 July 2024 for a three-year term. By IRVO's own figures, production classified as DOP rose from about 16 percent of the regional total in 2015 to 41 percent in 2024.

• 96,903 hectares in 2024, second in Italy behind Veneto (103,504 hectares) and ahead of Puglia (90,882 hectares), on AGEA/Inventario vitivinicolo data
• 2,746,000 hectolitres of wine and must in 2024, and a 2021 to 2024 average of 3,413,000 hectolitres (IRVO)
• 24 DOP wines (1 DOCG and 23 DOC) and 7 IGT wines (IRVO)
• IRVO was established in 1950, with its head office in Palermo and branch offices at Alcamo, Marsala and Milazzo

The EU single document for the Sicilia DOC describes the link with the geographical area as resting on an orography in which flat land, mainly along the coasts, alternates with mountainous and hilly zones and with a volcanic zone in the eastern part of the island. The delimited area of that DOC is the entire administrative territory of the Region of Sicily, so the appellation covers the island's full range of settings. The eastern volcanic zone is described in its own terms in the EU single document for the Etna DOC: the ground is volcanic and the climate temperate, the twenty communes of the appellation sit on the slopes of Etna in the province of Catania, Nerello Mascalese and Carricante are grown there up to high elevations, and vineyards on steeply sloping ground are worked on terraces held by dry-stone walls of lava rock. That document also records Etna as the latest-ripening zone in Sicily, with the harvest running from September to the end of October. Production is spread unevenly across the nine Sicilian provinces: on Istat data averaged over 2021 to 2024, Trapani accounted for 42.3 percent of regional wine and must production, Agrigento for 32.0 percent and Palermo for 11.6 percent, the three together for about 86 percent.

• The Sicilia DOC area is the entire administrative territory of the Region of Sicily (EU single document)
• Coastal plains alternate with mountain and hill country, and with a volcanic zone in the east (EU single document, Sicilia DOC)
• Etna: volcanic ground, temperate climate, terraces held by dry-stone lava walls, and the latest harvest in Sicily, from September to the end of October (EU single document, Etna DOC)
• Trapani 42.3 percent, Agrigento 32.0 percent and Palermo 11.6 percent of wine and must production, average 2021 to 2024 (Istat data published by IRVO)

IRVO counts 24 DOP wines in Sicily, of which one is a DOCG, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, and 23 are DOC, plus 7 wines at IGT or IGP level. On the ministry's regional table Sicily is eighth among Italian regions for total geographical-indication recognitions and fifth for the number of recognised DOC wines, behind Piedmont and Tuscany (41 DOC each), Veneto (29) and Puglia (28), with Lazio on 27. The 23 DOC are Alcamo, Contea di Sclafani/Valledolmo, Contessa Entellina, Delia Nivolelli, Eloro, Erice, Etna, Faro, Malvasia delle Lipari, Mamertino di Milazzo or Mamertino, Marsala, Menfi, Monreale, Noto, Pantelleria, Riesi, Salaparuta, Sambuca di Sicilia, S. Margherita Belice, Sciacca, Sicilia, Siracusa and Vittoria. The seven IGT are Terre Siciliane, Salina, Salemi, Avola, Valle Belice, Fontanarossa di Cerda and Camarro; IRVO notes that IGT Salemi cannot be claimed from the 2026 wine campaign because it became an additional geographical unit (UGA) of the Sicilia DOC under a specification change approved by ministerial decree of 24 July 2025, which takes the recognised IGP count to six. In the EU register the Sicilian designations are filed as protected designations and indications: Etna as PDO-IT-A0780, Cerasuolo di Vittoria as PDO-IT-A0773, Marsala as PDO-IT-A0785 and Sicilia as PDO-IT-A0801, with Terre Siciliane as PGI-IT-A0810 and an EU protection date of 15 December 2011. The register gives 18 September 1973 as the EU protection date for Etna, Cerasuolo di Vittoria and Marsala. The single documents set the delimited areas: Cerasuolo di Vittoria covers the whole territory of Vittoria, Comiso, Acate, Chiaramonte Gulfi and Santa Croce Camerina and part of Ragusa in the province of Ragusa, parts of Niscemi, Gela, Riesi, Butera and Mazzarino in Caltanissetta, and parts of Caltagirone, Licodia Eubea and Mazzarrone in Catania, with Nero d'Avola and Frappato as the principal varieties and a maximum yield of 8,000 kilograms of grapes per hectare. Marsala covers the whole province of Trapani except the communes of Pantelleria, Favignana and Alcamo, and its liqueur wines run from Fine through Superiore and Superiore Riserva to Vergine or Soleras.

• 24 DOP (1 DOCG, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, and 23 DOC) and 7 IGT recognised in Sicily (IRVO)
• Eighth Italian region for total geographical-indication recognitions and fifth for DOC count (ministry table published by IRVO)
• IGT Salemi becomes an additional geographical unit of the Sicilia DOC under the ministerial decree of 24 July 2025 and cannot be claimed from the 2026 campaign, taking the IGP count to six (IRVO)
• EU register file numbers: Etna PDO-IT-A0780, Cerasuolo di Vittoria PDO-IT-A0773, Marsala PDO-IT-A0785, Sicilia PDO-IT-A0801, Terre Siciliane PGI-IT-A0810

The hub below follows the Sicilian sub-regions that organise this wiki.

• Etna: the EU single document records the Etna DOC as the first Sicilian DOC to be recognised, set in the province of Catania across parts of twenty communes on the slopes of the volcano (Biancavilla, S. Maria di Licodia, Paterno, Belpasso, Nicolosi, Pedara, Trecastagni, Viagrande, Aci S. Antonio, Acireale, S. Venerina, Giarre, Mascali, Zafferana, Milo, S. Alfio, Piedimonte, Linguaglossa, Castiglione and Randazzo), on volcanic ground under a temperate climate, with Carricante, Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Minnella Bianca and Trebbiano Toscano among the varieties. IRVO's series for the appellation shows 512 growers claiming Etna DOC in 2025 over 14,612,623 square metres, for 9,533,417 kilograms of grapes, against 176 growers over 5,682,557 square metres in 2011. Certificates issued rose from 79 covering 9,428.80 hectolitres in 2012 to 640 covering 46,116.54 hectolitres in 2025. IRVO reports 157 companies under its control body for the appellation, of which 144 close the chain internally from vinification to bottling, and a 2025 output of 42.2 percent Etna Rosso, 40.3 percent Etna Bianco, 8.9 percent Etna Rosato, 4.4 percent Etna Spumante Bianco, 2.8 percent Etna Bianco Superiore, 0.9 percent Etna Spumante Rosato and 0.6 percent Etna Rosso Riserva.

IRVO publishes the varietal composition of the Sicilian vineyard from the regional vineyard inventory held by the Assessorato regionale dell'agricoltura, dello sviluppo rurale e della pesca mediterranea. On the 2021 figures, across a total of 97,081.00 hectares, Catarratto bianco lucido led at 15,661.02 hectares, or 16.13 percent, followed by Nero d'Avola at 15,387.36 hectares (15.85 percent) and Catarratto bianco comune at 13,190.15 hectares (13.59 percent). Grillo covered 8,579.01 hectares (8.84 percent), Syrah 5,154.83 hectares, Inzolia 4,417.90 hectares, Nerello Mascalese 3,343.11 hectares (3.44 percent), Grecanico 3,226.24 hectares, Pinot Grigio 3,115.66 hectares and Chardonnay 3,032.04 hectares. Further down the table sit Zibibbo at 2,825.01 hectares, Frappato at 1,030.95 hectares, Carricante at 900.26 hectares, Perricone at 583.55 hectares and Nerello Cappuccio at 404.89 hectares. The appellation specifications set which of these may be used where. The Etna DOC lists Carricante, Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Minnella Bianca and Trebbiano Toscano, with Catarratto bianco lucido and Catarratto bianco comune admitted only for sparkling wines. Cerasuolo di Vittoria is built on Nero d'Avola and Frappato. Marsala lists Nero d'Avola, Inzolia, Grillo, Damaschino, Nerello Mascalese and Perricone, again with the two Catarratto admitted only for sparkling wines. Jancis Robinson's regional entry names Nero d'Avola, Nerello Mascalese, Catarratto and Inzolia as the main grapes of Sicily.

• Catarratto bianco lucido 15,661.02 hectares, 16.13 percent of the Sicilian vineyard in 2021
• Nero d'Avola 15,387.36 hectares (15.85 percent) and Catarratto bianco comune 13,190.15 hectares (13.59 percent) in 2021
• Grillo 8,579.01 hectares (8.84 percent) and Nerello Mascalese 3,343.11 hectares (3.44 percent) in 2021
• Total varietal area 97,081.00 hectares in the 2021 regional vineyard inventory

According to IRVO, Sicily produced 2,746,000 hectolitres of wine and must in 2024, the fourth largest output of any Italian region, and averaged 3,413,000 hectolitres across 2021 to 2024. That production splits 41 percent DOP, 36 percent IGT and 23 percent generic wine. Packaged DOP and IGP wine reached 1.38 million hectolitres in Sicily in 2025, against a 2021 to 2025 average of 1.58 million hectolitres, from about 1,000 companies. IRVO's packaging series for 2025 puts total DOP at 683,911.40 hectolitres and total IGT at 700,042.16 hectolitres, for an overall DOP, IGP and varietal total of 1,384,295.52 hectolitres. Within that, the Sicilia DOC accounted for 565,583.96 hectolitres, Marsala for 44,152.41 hectolitres, Etna for 42,828.66 hectolitres and Cerasuolo di Vittoria for 3,446.03 hectolitres, while IGT Terre Siciliane alone accounted for 698,108.00 hectolitres. IRVO notes that Terre Siciliane represents 53 percent of all Sicilian packaged wine, and attributes the growth in certified volumes above all to the recognition of the Sicilia DOC in 2012, which has since reached close to 70 percent of the total quantity certified as DOP. Certified DOP volumes rose from nearly 130,000 hectolitres in 2012 to more than one million hectolitres in 2021, the series maximum, with a dip to 928,488.05 hectolitres in 2020. On organic production, IRVO records 33,823 hectares of organic wine-grape vineyard in 2024, 26 percent of the Italian total and the largest area of any Italian region, ahead of Tuscany at 23,068 hectares and Puglia at 21,320 hectares.

• According to IRVO, 2,746,000 hectolitres of wine and must in 2024, fourth among Italian regions
• According to IRVO, 1,384,295.52 hectolitres of DOP, IGP and varietal wine packaged in 2025
• According to IRVO, the Sicilia DOC accounted for 565,583.96 hectolitres and IGT Terre Siciliane for 698,108.00 hectolitres of 2025 packaging
• According to IRVO, 33,823 hectares of organic wine-grape vineyard in 2024, 26 percent of the Italian organic vine area

Primary sources (IRVO and the EU eAmbrosia register): https://www.irvos.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Vitivinicoltura-regionale-Febbraio-2026.pdf, https://www.irvos.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Scheda-Sintetica-Sicilia-2026.pdf, https://www.irvos.it/comunicazioni/etna-doc-crescita-record-711-certificazioni-in-tredici-anni/, https://www.irvos.it/chi-siamo/, https://www.irvos.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DATI-DOC-ETNA-aprile-2026.pdf, https://www.irvos.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Superfici-ed-Uve-a-DO-e-IG-rivendicate-2011-2025.pdf, https://www.irvos.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CULTIVAR_6_novembre_2020.pdf, https://www.irvos.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IMBOTTIGLIATO-2026.pdf, https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eambrosia-api/api/v1/geographical-indications?namelike=Etna&lang=en, https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eambrosia-api/api/v1/geographical-indications?namelike=Cerasuolo%20di%20Vittoria&lang=en, https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eambrosia-api/api/v1/geographical-indications?namelike=Sicilia&lang=en, https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eambrosia-api/api/v1/geographical-indications?namelike=Marsala&lang=en, https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eambrosia-api/api/v1/attachments/24586, https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eambrosia-api/api/v1/attachments/27095, https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eambrosia-api/api/v1/attachments/26083, https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eambrosia-api/api/v1/attachments/24695. Secondary source: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/italy/sicily. Last verified 2026-09-16