IGT Orange

COS Zibibbo in Pithos

Azienda Agricola COS

Grape
Zibibbo
Denomination
Terre Siciliane IGT
Region
Sicily
ABV
12%
Drink
Now to 2030

A skin-contact Zibibbo from COS in Vittoria, fermented and aged seven months in 400-litre terracotta amphorae. Golden amber, with candied orange peel, apricot and a saline, almost iodine edge. Dry, textured and biodynamic.

Best price
£31.57

2024 · 75cl · checked 27 Oct · Delivery £6 for 1 to 6 bottles, £0.50 per extra bottle

Vinatis logo Buy at Vinatis Compare 2 offers
Vintages 2024 2023

Prices read daily from 3 UK retailers. We earn a commission on some links; it never changes the order.

Where to buy In Pithos Zibibbo - Cos

£31.57 best price · 2 retailers in stock · checked 27 Oct 2026

Stock is shown where the retailer publishes it, offers are sorted by price, and unavailable offers can’t be clicked.

Vinatis Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 27 Oct · Delivery £6 for 1 to 6 bottles, £0.50 per extra bottle
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£31.57 £42.09/L
Buy
Vinissimus Best price 2023 · 75cl · checked 27 Oct · Delivery charges may apply
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£38.65 £51.53/L
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Unavailable (2)
8wines Best price 2022 · 75cl · checked 27 Oct · Delivery charged at checkout Code NEWCUST8J: Enter NEWCUST8J to get £8 off with the minimum wine order of £88. Valid only for new customers, until 31 Dec 2027
Out of stock
£21.97 £29.29/L
Out of stock
Vinatis Best price 2023 · 75cl · checked 27 Oct · Delivery £6 for 1 to 6 bottles, £0.50 per extra bottle
Out of stock
£31.70 £42.27/L
Out of stock

Stock status is read from each retailer’s page once a day and may lag.

Tasting Notes

What COS Zibibbo in Pithos tastes like

Seven months on the skins in terracotta gives this Zibibbo its amber colour, candied orange peel and a saline, iodine-tinged core. Orange, apricot, honey and orange blossom lead the way.

Tasted by
ItalianWines editorial
Tasted on
12 June 2026
Source
Drinker consensus · confidence Medium
Typical of Zibibbo
Body Light / Full
Tannins Smooth / Grippy
Sweetness Dry / Sweet
Acidity Soft / Crisp
Nose

The nose is unmistakably Zibibbo: candied orange peel, apricot and a top note of orange blossom and jasmine. Those are the aromatics Muscat of Alexandria is loved for. Seven months on the skins in terracotta adds a savoury, almost iodine lift beneath the fruit. Orange and citrus peel come first, then honey and dried apricot.

Orange peelOrange peel
JasmineJasmine
Orange blossomOrange blossom
ApricotApricot
RaisinRaisin
Wet stonesWet stones
AlmondAlmond
HoneyHoney
Palate

This is dry, with the gentle tannin from juice left on the skins. That tannin gives orange wine its grip rather than any sweetness. Candied citrus and stone fruit ride a salty, stony spine that echoes the red Pliocene sands near Marsala where the grapes grow. Medium-bodied and unoaked, it finishes drier and more savoury than the perfumed nose suggests.

Finish

The close is long and salty, with a bitter-orange and almond echo drawn from the months of contact with the skins and the clay vessel.

Overall

This is a characterful, biodynamic Sicilian orange wine, and a well-liked one. It is best with food, and a benchmark introduction to COS's clay-vessel range.

Drink now Best by 2030
Live UK pricing

Where to buy COS Zibibbo in Pithos in the UK

Two UK merchants list it now, the in-stock 2024 around 32 pounds and an older 2022 closer to 18. A small-production amphora wine, so availability shifts vintage by vintage.

Best price · 75 cl · 2024 £31.57 at Vinatis
75cl · 2024 available from Vinatis £31.57, in stock
Vintages live 2024 · 2023 Current release: 2024
Per-litre (75cl · 2024 basis) £42.09 Lowest current 75cl · 2024 offer
Last checked 27 Oct 2026 Refreshed once every 24 hours
Other vintages and formats: 1 price line

75cl · 2023: £38.65, 1 UK retailer

Wine fit score

How COS Zibibbo in Pithos scores

Scored for the way an amphora orange wine actually drinks: hugely food-friendly and a real conversation bottle, but a leap for anyone new to skin contact.

Best with food 8.8/10

Skin-contact tannin, fresh acidity and aromatic Muscat make it exceptionally food-friendly across cheese, mezze and fried food.

Best for an occasion 7.0/10

A distinctive, conversation-starting orange wine from a benchmark biodynamic estate, ideal for adventurous dinners.

Best value 6.8/10

At roughly 18 to 32 pounds it is fairly priced for a hand-made, biodynamic amphora wine, though not an everyday bargain.

Best everyday bottle 5.0/10

A characterful, food-loving bottle rather than a casual midweek white, and priced above everyday level.

Best intro to this style 4.5/10

Aromatic and approachable for an orange wine, but the skin-contact texture and saline grip put it a step beyond mainstream whites for beginners.

Best for cellar 4.2/10

Built for drinking young; it holds five years or so on its amphora texture but is not a wine for long cellaring.

Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.

Denomination Compliance Snapshot

Terre Siciliane in five fields

A compact view of what the Terre Siciliane denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.

Allowed grapes
Variety list not yet recorded
This bottle: Zibibbo.
Minimum ageing
Recorded by producer
Disciplinare ageing rule not yet recorded.
Region / area
Sicily
Style
IGT · Terre Siciliane
Classification
IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica)
What that means →
Vintages

COS Zibibbo in Pithos across vintages

Three vintages circulate here, 2022 to 2024. Each is a wild-yeast, amphora-aged Zibibbo built more on texture than on vintage swing.

2024 Current release
Best price
£31.57
Retailers
1 in stock
ABV
12.0%
Window
Drink now through 2030

Harvested in early September and given six to seven months on the skins in amphora. Bright and aromatic in youth; drink now or hold a few years.

2023 Previous release
Best price
£38.65
Retailers
1 in stock
Window
Drink now through 2029

Vivino's best-rated recent vintage of this wine. Skin-contact Zibibbo with apricot and saline lift; approachable now, with several years in reserve.

2022 Sold through
Best price
not listed
Retailers
0 in stock
Window
Drink now through 2028

A warm, dry south-east Sicilian growing season behind an amber, textured Zibibbo. Drinking well now, the amphora ageing keeping it fresh.

2024 Current release
Best price
£31.57
Retailers
1 in stock
ABV
12.0%
Window
Drink now through 2030

Harvested in early September and given six to seven months on the skins in amphora. Bright and aromatic in youth; drink now or hold a few years.

Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.

The disciplinare, the place, the label

COS, biodynamic amphora pioneers in Vittoria

COS revived terracotta-amphora winemaking in Sicily in 2000, naming the Pithos range after the Greek word for the vessel. The estate farms biodynamically near Vittoria and sources this Zibibbo from Marsala.

01

DOC, DOCG, IGT: what the badges mean

Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.

Terre Siciliane is in the IGT tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.

02

The denomination rules, in detail

  • Allowed grapes. Varieties not yet recorded
  • Tasting panel. No mandatory pre-release tasting
03

Region and area context

Terre Siciliane falls within Sicily.

The zone the estate stands in The producer

Made at Azienda Agricola COS, Vittoria. Directions

04

Reading the label

  • Azienda Agricola COSProducer / estate
  • ZibibboGrape varieties
  • Terre Siciliane IGTGeographic indication and quality tier
  • 2024Vintage (year of harvest)
  • 12.0% volAlcohol by volume
05

What sits behind the price of In Pithos Zibibbo - Cos

Tracked from
£31.57
Direction
Mostly cost up
Drivers
5 up / 1 down
Main factor
Seven months skin maceration in 400-litre terracotta amphorae
  1. 01

    Hand-harvested biodynamic Zibibbo from Marsala

    Cost up

    COS farms biodynamically and hand-picks in early September, sourcing Zibibbo from red Pliocene sands near Marsala. Certified-organic, low-yield fruit costs more than bulk Sicilian white.

  2. 02

    Seven months skin maceration in 400-litre terracotta amphorae

    Cost up

    Fermentation and six to seven months on the skins in imported terracotta pithoi tie up costly vessels and cellar space far longer than a quick tank white.

  3. 03

    Wild-yeast, low-intervention winemaking

    Cost up

    Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts and no oak or additions raises risk and lowers volume, a premium built into the bottle.

  4. 04

    Small-production natural-wine demand

    Cost up

    COS is a reference name in Italian natural wine; limited amphora bottlings and collector demand hold the UK price around 32 pounds for the current vintage.

  5. 05

    UK duty and VAT on a still wine

    Cost up

    UK alcohol duty of 2.67 pounds per still bottle at or below 15% ABV, plus 20% VAT, account for several pounds of the roughly 32-pound shelf price before retailer margin.

  6. 06

    Island-wide Terre Siciliane IGT, not a premium DOCG

    Cost down

    Bottled as flexible Terre Siciliane IGT rather than a tightly regulated DOCG, the appellation adds no scarcity premium and keeps it below COS's Cerasuolo di Vittoria.

01

Hand-harvested biodynamic Zibibbo from Marsala

Cost up

COS farms biodynamically and hand-picks in early September, sourcing Zibibbo from red Pliocene sands near Marsala. Certified-organic, low-yield fruit costs more than bulk Sicilian white.

Perfect Pairings

Dishes that go with this wine

Chocolate cake, plated

Chocolate cake
Carnitas plated with pork, lard, corn tortilla

Carnitas
Food Pairing

Dishes for a skin-contact Sicilian Zibibbo

Skin-contact grip and aromatic Muscat lift make this a table wine for big flavours: aged pecorino, fried arancini, baked aubergine and sesame-rich Levantine mezze.

Salt balance Strong match

Aged pecorino and hard sheep's cheese

Aged pecorino is salty and fat-rich. The wine's skin-contact tannin and fresh acidity scrub the palate while its saline, mineral core meets the cheese on its own terms.

Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · aged pecorino · provolone piccante · ricotta salata · More pairings →

Aromatic bridge Strong match

Levantine mezze and sesame

Tahini, cumin and herbs can flatten a delicate white. The aromatic Muscat lift and gentle phenolic grip of this Zibibbo bridge sesame and spice instead, holding their own against chickpea and garlic.

Try with: Hummus · Falafel · Tabbouleh · baba ganoush · More pairings →

Fat cutting Good match

Fried Sicilian street food

Fresh acidity and a faint tannic grip cut through the fried, cheesy richness of arancini, resetting the palate between bites. A same-island pairing that plays to the wine's savoury side.

Try with: Arancini · panelle · crocchè · More pairings →

Aromatic bridge Good match

Aubergine and tomato

The wine's light skin-contact bitterness shadows the gentle bitterness of aubergine, while its acidity lifts a tomato sauce. Weight for weight it sits comfortably with baked, layered vegetable dishes.

Try with: Eggplant parmesan · caponata · roasted peppers · More pairings →

Body matching Good match

Spiced white meat

Warm spice on grilled or roast white meat finds an echo in Zibibbo's candied-orange and herb aromatics, and the wine's texture stands up to char without fighting the spice.

Try with: Chicken Shawarma · Kafta Kebab · grilled spiced chicken · More pairings →

Avoid Clash

Delicate raw fish and oysters

Skip the briny but subtle end of the table. The skin-contact tannin and loud aromatics of an orange Zibibbo overwhelm raw oysters, sashimi and delicate crudo, which are better with a crisper, neutral Sicilian white such as Grillo or Catarratto.

Skip with: oysters · sashimi · sushi · crudo · ceviche · Pairing guide →

Drinking + cellar

Cellaring COS Zibibbo in Pithos

Built for drinking young, it still holds five years or more, the amphora texture deepening toward almond and dried apricot. Store it cool and serve at 8 to 10C.

Drinking window
2025 → 2030

Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.

Decanting
Not needed

Pour it straight from the bottle.

Serving temperature
12-16°C

Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.

Cellar potential
Medium

Built for drinking young; it holds five years or so on its amphora texture but is not a wine for long cellaring.

Buy now or wait?
Buy now

£31.57 for a 75cl bottle of the 2024, at Vinatis, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.

Sources & trust

Sources behind this COS Zibibbo page

Prices & stock

Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 27 Oct 2026, 04:58 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.

Confidence · High
Tasting notes

Drawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic. Drinkers score it 4 out of 5 from 1,851 ratings on Vivino.

Confidence · Medium
Appellation rules & ageing

From the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.

Confidence · High
Why it costs what it costs

Our reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.

Confidence · Medium
Drink window & cellar potential

Style guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.

Confidence · Medium
Related

Explore COS, Zibibbo and Sicilian orange wine

Producer
Azienda Agricola COS Sicily
Grapes
Zibibbo
Denomination
Terre Siciliane IGT
Region
Sicily Region guide
Cuisine
International Cuisine 1 dishes paired Mexican 1 dishes paired

Common Questions

Yes. It is made from 100% Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria) with the skins left in contact through fermentation and six to seven months of ageing in terracotta amphorae, which gives it the amber colour and gentle grip of an orange wine.

Dry, not sweet. Expect candied orange peel, apricot and dried fruit over a saline, mineral core, with light skin-contact tannin and fresh acidity. It sits at around 12% alcohol.

Aged pecorino, Sicilian arancini and aubergine parmigiana, and Levantine mezze such as hummus and falafel. The skin-contact texture and aromatic lift handle spice, sesame and fried food.

From biodynamically farmed Zibibbo grown near Marsala, harvested in early September, fermented with wild yeasts on the skins in 400-litre amphorae, then aged in concrete before bottling. There is no oak.

It drinks well on release for its aromatics, and also holds for five years or more, the amphora texture deepening towards almond and dried fruit. Serve it at 8 to 10C.

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In Pithos Zibibbo - Cos
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