Red Grape · Sicily

Nero d'Avola

Nero d'Avola is Sicily's flagship black grape: a warm, sun-swollen red of ripe black cherry, plum and high alcohol that runs from soft, jammy everyday bottles to the structured, ageworthy reds of Noto.

Nero d'Avola (Neh-roh DAH-voh-lah) is the most widespread grape variety in Sicily. Avola is a tiny little village in the south-east of Sicily, and Nero d’Avola is its signature grape. The grape is grown all over the island. It is mainly found in the provinces of Agrigento, Caltanissetta and Siracusa. It gives excellent results in wines made from it alone. It is also used in blends with other international red grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. It blends with native Sicilian grapes too, such as Frappato, Perricone, Nerello Cappuccio and Nerello Mascalese. Together they create full bodied, sumptuous reds.

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6
Denominations

Also known as

Same grape, many labels

The old name

Calabrese

The grape's historic name, still found on vineyard registers and some labels; it sounds like 'from Calabria', but there is little trace of the variety across the strait before modern times.

Dialect root

Calaurisi / Calavrisi

The Sicilian dialect form behind 'Calabrese', from 'calea' (grape) and 'aulisi' (of Avola); the botanist Cupani recorded it as Calavrisi back in 1696.

Modern name

Nero d'Avola

The 'black of Avola', the market-friendly name now used almost everywhere the wine is sold, from the town of Avola itself to UK supermarket shelves.

The anchor fact: Nero d'Avola and Calabrese are the same grape. 'Nero d'Avola' means 'the black of Avola', the town near Syracuse in the southeast, while 'Calabrese' is the older name, and despite the echo of Calabria most scholars trace it to the Sicilian dialect 'Calaurisi', meaning 'grape of Avola'.

Taste · Where it sits

What it’s actually like in the glass

Forget scores out of five. Here’s Nero d'Avola described against grapes you already know.

BodyFull and sun-warmed
LightFull

Full-bodied and warm, squarely in Puglia's Primitivo weight class and clearly heavier than a Chianti Sangiovese, though it rarely turns as thick as a top Primitivo.

TanninModerate, dusty
SoftGrippy

Present but ripe and rounded, nowhere near young Nebbiolo's grip or the firm tannin of Campania's Aglianico, more a dusty suggestion than a scrape.

AcidityFresher than it looks
SoftZippy

Medium acidity, fresher than such a warm red suggests: less racy than an Etna Nerello Mascalese, but with far more lift than a flat, jammy southern red, which is what lets the best Noto bottles age.

Fruit & sweetnessBone-dry, jammy-ripe
DrySweet

Fully dry, yet the sun-baked black fruit is so ripe it can read as sweet, the same optical trick Primitivo plays: jam without any sugar.

Key flavours

Black cherry
The pulsing core note: ripe, almost stewed black cherry, baked soft by the Sicilian sun.
Plum
Fleshy, over-ripe purple plum, the soft and generous everyday face of the grape.
Blueberry
A jammy blueberry-compote top-note that marks the riper southeast style around Avola and Noto.
Violet
A lift of violet and dried herb that keeps the ripeness from turning heavy or portly.
Cocoa
Bitter cocoa on the finish, deepened by barrique in serious Noto bottles like Santa Cecilia.
Liquorice
Black liquorice and a whiff of Mediterranean macchia scrub, the savoury edge against all that sweet fruit.
Structured · Tannic Soft · Approachable Light-bodied Bold · Full Sangiovese Nebbiolo Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Barbera Cabernet Franc
Nero d'Avola

The map

Nero d'Avola is full-bodied, moderate grip, mapped against other red grapes you can buy. The closer a grape sits, the more its weight and grip resemble Nero d'Avola.

Nero d'Avolafull-bodied, moderate grip
Sangiovesefirmer
Nebbiolofirmer
Merlotfirmer
Cabernet Sauvignonfuller, far more tannic
Barberafar softer
Cabernet Franclighter

Is this for you?

An honest gut-check

Reach for it when…

A bold red that just works

  • You love a big, sun-warmed southern red with jammy black fruit and gentle tannin: the Sicilian answer to Puglia's Primitivo, but with a fresher edge.
  • You are matching rich Sicilian food: pasta alla Norma, anelletti al forno, or anything with aubergine, tomato and salty ricotta salata.
  • You want serious southern Italy without Nebbiolo's price or grip; a structured Noto bottle rewards five years in the cellar.

Maybe skip it if…

You’re after something else tonight

  • You chase high-acid, ethereal reds; head to Etna for Nerello Mascalese, or to Piedmont for Nebbiolo instead.
  • Alcohol warmth bothers you; these routinely hit 14 percent and more, and you feel it.
  • You want firm, gripping tannin for the long haul; even top Nero d'Avola stays plush rather than structured by Barolo standards.

Serving guide

Pour it at its best

Serve at

15-18°C

Serve cool, at 15 to 18C: a slight chill keeps the high alcohol reading as warmth, not heat.

Decant

1 hours

An hour in a decanter loosens the structured Noto bottles and airs off any jammy reduction.

Glass

Large Balloon Glass

A large balloon glass gives the ripe black fruit and violet lift room to open up.

Drink within

1-2 days

Once open, a re-corked bottle keeps its ripe fruit for a day or two in the fridge.

Cellar

5-10 years

Serious single-vineyard Noto wines hold and deepen for five to ten years; everyday bottles do not.

On the table

What to eat with Nero d'Avola

Start with the home-table matches that made the grape, then browse the full cuisine library.

Pasta alla Norma

The Sicilian home match

Pasta alla Norma

Fried aubergine, tomato and salty ricotta salata from Catania: grape and dish grew up on the same sunbaked island, so the ripe black fruit echoes the sweet aubergine while the moderate tannin copes with the tomato.
Anelletti al forno

Palermo's baked ragu

Anelletti al forno

The rich, cheesy baked ring-pasta timballo wants weight and warmth; Nero d'Avola's full body and cocoa note wrap around the meat ragu without the tannic bite a young Nebbiolo would bring to the table.
Char siu

Sweet glaze, ripe fruit

Char siu

Honey and five-spice barbecue pork: the grape's jammy black cherry and liquorice mirror the sticky glaze, and because its tannin is soft rather than gripping it stays friendly with the sweetness, where a firm Aglianico would fight it.
Rogan josh

Warm spice, not fire

Rogan josh

Aromatic Kashmiri lamb: the ripe plum, high alcohol and cocoa carry the warm spice, and the moderate tannin means the chilli never turns bitter, the kind of job Italy's ripe south does better than its tannic north.

Browse every pairing

Chinese Chinese
Duck & Roast Meats 2 Meats 2 Stir-fries 2 Noodles 1
Indian Indian
Curries 2 Tandoori & Kebabs 2 Biryani & Rice 1 Dals & Pulses 1
Thai Thai
Grilled & BBQ 2 Noodles 2 Curries 1 Stir-fries 1

Buy it · three to start with

Not sure which bottle? Start here

A curated trio across the price range, then every Nero d'Avola on sale in the UK right now.

Entry · everyday

Nero d'Avola DOC Sicilia

Nero d'Avola DOC Sicilia

Sicilia

1 retailer

£9.52

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Why this one: The everyday face: a soft, jammy Sicilia DOC to pour without ceremony, all ripe plum and black cherry for around the price of a pizza.

The sweet spot

Azienda Agricola COS Nero di Lupo

Azienda Agricola COS Nero di Lupo

Terre Siciliane

1 retailer

£26.55

View Wine

Why this one: A step up in seriousness for the same grape: COS is a Sicilian natural-wine benchmark and Nero di Lupo is pure, unoaked Nero d'Avola from Vittoria, all bright black fruit, anise and fine tannin.

Special occasion

Planeta Santa Cecilia

Planeta Santa Cecilia

Noto

4 retailers

£31.79

View Wine

Why this one: The grape at full stretch: Planeta's flagship from Noto, the variety's original home, 100 percent Nero d'Avola aged in barrique into a deep, cocoa-and-macchia red built to cellar.

12 of 45 bottles

Denominations

Where it earns a name on the label

The appellations where Nero d'Avola plays a starring role.

Cerasuolo di VittoriaDOCG NotoDOC SiciliaDOC BivongiDOC MarsalaDOC PalizziIGT

Where it grows

Where Nero d'Avola grows in Sicily

Sicily wine region

Sicily

Volcanic Nerello on Etna's black terraces, sun-baked Nero d'Avola on the south-east coast, fortified Marsala in Trapani and UNESCO Zibibbo on Pantelleria: Sicily holds Italy's widest single-region wine map.

622 wines · 31 denominations
Explore the Sicily guide

The terroir

Nero d'Avola is planted the length and breadth of Sicily, but the island's warm, limestone southeast is its true home, and its reach even stretches across the strait to the Calabrian mainland.

Noto and the southeast

The limestone hills around Avola, Noto and Pachino, in Sicily's far southeast corner

The grape's spiritual home and its most serious face: dense black fruit, cocoa and real structure, the ground that gives Santa Cecilia its depth and makes these the bottles worth cellaring.

Cerasuolo di Vittoria

The gravel and red-sand plains around Vittoria, in Sicily's southwest

Here Nero d'Avola is blended with the perfumed, red-fruited Frappato to make Sicily's only DOCG: a lighter, fragrant, more drinkable style that trades power for lift.

Across the strait in Calabria

Palizzi and Bivongi, in the deep south of the Calabrian mainland

Under its old name Calabrese, the grape crosses to the mainland and turns up in the warm, rustic reds of Palizzi and Bivongi, blended with local Gaglioppo and Nocera.

Editorial

About Nero d'Avola

This grape is often blended with other varieties to create wonderful wines. On its own it also gives excellent results, matured in steel and in wood. Most of these wines are now labelled DOC Sicilia. In the past they used to be labelled Nero d'Avola IGT Terre Siciliane, which has not been allowed since 2020.

For most of the twentieth century Nero d'Avola was anonymous blending muscle, shipped off in bulk to give body to paler wines far from Sicily. Only when Planeta, Donnafugata and Tasca d'Almerita bottled it under its own name in the 1990s did the island's flagship red finally stand alone.

The 1990s Sicilian varietal revival

It is the only DOCG wine in Sicily, made from a blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato. It has a fruity fragrance, with a dry, full and harmonious flavour.

The traditional Sicilian fortified wine par excellence. The Rubino version is made from a blend of Nero d’Avola, Perricone, Nerello Mascalese and other white grape varieties. It is then fortified with wine spirits and aged in oak barrels.

An authentic Sicilian wine made in the province of Palermo. It is named after the ancient city of Entella. Its aroma is fine, intense and vinous. Its taste is dry and velvety.

Nero d'Avola makes up a minimum of 60% of this wine blend. Alcamo DOC wine is ruby red, with a spicy and fruity aroma. On the palate it is dry, harmonious and full-bodied.

Nero d'Avola was probably brought to Italy by the Greeks around the 7th century BC. It found its ideal climate in Sicily, in the area between Pachino, Noto and Avola.

For centuries wines made from this grape were used as "cutting wines". They were sent to the North of Italy or abroad, to enrich other wines that were lower in alcohol and to give them body. At that time Sicily had a reputation for cheaper, mass-produced wines, and its wineries valued the quantity produced above all else. More recently, skilled winemakers have given the grape their commitment and dedication. Nero d'Avola is now one of the most renowned products of southern Italy, and it is valued for its quality.

Good to know

Frequently asked

Nero d’Avola wines are a great expression of the sunny island of Sicily. They are red (or pink in their “rosato” version), they are full-bodied and warm, with a harmonious balance of tannins and acidity and a remarkable fruity intensity.

The younger wines show a fruity, fresher aromatic profile and inviting bouquet that becomes more spicy and variegated when ageing in wood. Generally, it has medium acidity and high tannins. Delicate notes of cocoa, licorice, plum, cherry, carob and balsamic herbs can also be perceived.

Nero d’Avola is famous for producing excellent dry wines, but passito (sweet) versions are also produced from this grape, with excellent results. These sweet wines are the perfect companions to chocolate desserts.

It is cultivated all over Sicily, with distinctive features depending on the production area. In western Sicily, these wines show a greater character; in the centre of the island they offer a stronger perception of red fruits, while in eastern Sicily they tend to be more refined.

Nero d'Avola goes well with rich dishes: from grilled meats and aged cheeses to tomato-based pasta recipes. Aged bottles develop a particularly refined and elegant tannic texture and become a magnificent pairing to elaborate game or wild mushroom dishes.

Explore by style

Wine styles made from Nero d'Avola

Jump to the editorial guide for each style this grape turns up in.

Keep exploring

More red grapes