Arianna Occhipinti Nero d'Avola Siccagno 2024
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The Land
Siccagno is a Sicilian farming term meaning dry-farmed, grown without irrigation, and in a place that goes months without rain that is not a marketing claim but a decision about how deep you are willing to make roots go. The Nero d'Avola for this wine comes from limestone-influenced sites around Vittoria in southeastern Sicily, where red sand sits over sub-Apennine calcareous limestone at around 250 to 280 meters. Without irrigation the vine has to reach the limestone to find water, and what comes back up is the mineral signature that separates a serious Nero d'Avola from the jammy version the grape produces on the flat, irrigated inland plains. The Iblei Mountains behind and the sea in front keep nights cold, which is why acidity survives.
The Wine
100% Nero d'Avola from vines around thirty-five years old, hand-harvested, fermented spontaneously in concrete with no temperature control and twenty to twenty-five days on the skins, then aged roughly two years in large old oak botti and bottled unfiltered with minimal sulfur. Two years in neutral wood rather than a year in barrique is the reason the tannin arrives resolved and the fruit stays intact. 2024 was a drought year across Sicily, hot and dry with sharply reduced yields, which suited a dry-farmed site and concentrated what was picked. This is the darkest and most structured wine in the range: crushed blackberry, black cherry, dried fig, leather, earth, and warm spice, with firm acidity and dusty tannin that will keep improving for a decade.
The People
Arianna Occhipinti started her estate in 2004 at twenty-two with one hectare of abandoned vines in Contrada Fossa di Lupo, releasing her first commercial vintage in 2006. She farms roughly 25 certified organic hectares across nine contrade around Vittoria, biodynamically since 2009, and built a gravity-fed concrete cellar in 2014 that let her drop stainless and fiberglass entirely. Nothing is inoculated, temperature-controlled, fined, or filtered. Nero d'Avola is Sicily's most planted quality red grape and also its most abused; Siccagno is her argument for what happens when it is farmed hard and left alone in the cellar.
Food Pairing
Structured enough for the heaviest cooking on the list. Braised wild boar or rabbit with olives, grilled lamb with wild herbs, aged caciocavallo, or a rich eggplant and tomato bake. The dusty tannin needs fat and protein opposite it, and the earthy, leathery register meets slow-cooked meat exactly where it lives. Decant an hour ahead, or put it away for five years and open it then.
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Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
Sicily, Italy’s largest island, blends ancient wine traditions with a fresh wave of modern creativity. Its star red grape, Nero d’Avola, thrives in the island’s warm, sun-soaked climate, producing intensely flavored wines with dark fruit and a hint of savory spice. Along the western coast lies the historic heartland of Marsala, a fortified wine prized for both sweet and dry styles. Rising above the island’s varied landscapes is Mount Etna, an active volcano whose mineral-rich soils and cooler elevations result in elegantly structured reds and nuanced whites. From coast to crater, Sicily’s wine culture is as diverse and vibrant as the region itself.
Italy - Sicily
Nero d'Avola is Sicily's most widely planted grape, originally grown near the town of Avola in the island's southeast. It thrives in Sicily’s warm Mediterranean climate and sandy limestone soils, producing medium to full-bodied red wines. Typically, Nero d'Avola offers flavors of ripe blackberry and plum with hints of spice. The wines have balanced acidity and a solid structure, making them enjoyable young or aged for a few years. Though closely linked to Sicily, Nero d'Avola is also increasingly popular in warm climates like Australia and California.
