Nero d'Avola is one of Italy's most important grapes. It is generally grown in Sicily and produces a wine deep cherry in color. It will often present itself as a dry full-bodied wine with mild acidity and round fruit.
Etna is an Italian wine DOC which covers the slopes of Mount Etna, the 3330 meter (10,920ft) active volcano that dominates the northeastern corner of Sicily. The Etna DOC was the very first in Sicily, created in August 1968 and followed nine months later by that of Sicily's most famous wine, Marsala.The most commonly produced form of Etna wine is the standard Etna Rosso, a red made predominantly from the Nerello Mascalese grape variety with up to a 20 percent addition of Nerello Cappuccio (also known here as Nerello Mantellato). Its bianco (white) counterpart is composed of at least 60 percent Carricante, backed up by Sicily's most widely planted white grape, Catarratto, and a host of minor additions including Trebbiano and Minnella. There is also a relatively rare rosato (rosé) form also based on Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio.
