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Virgin Wines' Sicilian red, made by the Biscardo family. Nero d'Avola is left to wither on the vine for depth, Frappato is picked early for freshness: plum, blackberry and vanilla at 13.5%. Rated 4.6 by 1,436 Virgin customers. £17 a bottle.
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Virgin Wines describes rich, ripe red fruit with a backbone of immense freshness. The notes below add what 342 Vivino reviewers and 1,436 Virgin customers found in the glass, and how Maurizio Biscardo's vine-drying shapes it.
Plum and blackberry lead in Vivino's 342 written reviews of this wine, with 102 mentions. Oak, tobacco and vanilla follow with 77, then cherry and red fruit. A few drinkers find leather, smoke and a little dried fruit. Virgin Wines sums up the fruit as rich and ripe; the dried-fruit edge comes from the Nero d'Avola left to shrivel on the vine.
Blackberry
Cherry
Plum
Prune
Tobacco
Leather
Black pepper
VanillaFull-bodied but fresh. Maurizio Biscardo lets the Nero d'Avola wither on the vine before picking, which concentrates its sugar and gives the wine its ripe, generous fruit. The Frappato is picked at its earliest ripeness to add what Virgin Wines calls a huge whack of freshness. Tannins are soft and the alcohol a modest 13.5%.
Medium-long, with vanilla, the peppery edge one Virgin customer notes and the smoke Vivino drinkers find. Nothing jammy: the early-picked Frappato keeps the end clean.
A ripe but balanced Sicilian red that Virgin Wines' customers rate 4.6 out of 5 across 1,436 ratings, and Vivino drinkers 4.1 across 4,057. The 2019 and 2020 both score 4.2 on Vivino, the best-liked years. Drink the 2024 from now to 2030 with grilled or spiced lamb, rich pasta or hard cheese.
Virgin Wines is the only UK shop we track with it: £16.99 a bottle for the 2024, covered by Virgin's money-back guarantee. Virgin's customers have rated it 1,436 times, with an average of 4.6 out of 5.
Four scores out of ten. Eghemon scores highest as an introduction to Sicilian reds, then for food and value at £17, and well for everyday drinking.
Ripe plum and blackberry, soft tannin, vanilla and only 13.5% alcohol: an easy first Sicilian red, and Virgin's 969 five-star ratings say most people agree.
Full but fresh, with soft tannin: good with grilled meat, spiced lamb, rich pasta and hard cheese. Wrong for raw fish, sour dishes and fierce chilli.
£17 at Virgin Wines for a Sicilian red rated 4.6 by 1,436 of its customers and 4.1 by over 4,000 Vivino drinkers.
At £17 and 13.5% it is a weekend rather than a weeknight red, though the soft style suits an ordinary dinner as well as a special one.
A merchant's own label with no DOC or IGT stated by Virgin Wines. Good for a casual dinner, not a gift or celebration wine.
Made to drink young. It will soften over the years to 2030 rather than gain complexity, so there is no reason to wait.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.
One vintage is on sale in the UK, the 2024, at £16.99. Virgin Wines says it is at its best from now to the end of 2030. The harvest story is in the card below.
Sicily's 2024 harvest was about 20% smaller than usual because of drought, but the island's growers called the quality excellent. Nero d'Avola and Frappato coped with the dry year better than most grapes. Virgin Wines says this 2024 is at its best from now to the end of 2030.
Sicily's 2024 harvest was about 20% smaller than usual because of drought, but the island's growers called the quality excellent. Nero d'Avola and Frappato coped with the dry year better than most grapes. Virgin Wines says this 2024 is at its best from now to the end of 2030.
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.
Dishes that go with this wine
A full but fresh 13.5% red with soft tannin and ripe, partly dried fruit wants meat, spice or salt. Vivino's experts list beef, lamb and pasta; one Virgin customer says it is great with spicy lamb.
Meat fat and char soften the gentle tannin of this Nero d'Avola. Its ripe plum and blackberry fruit stands up to a well-seasoned steak. Beef and lamb lead Vivino's list of matches for this wine.
Try with: Ribeye steak · Sirloin steak · Lamb chops · Fiorentina steak · More pairings →
Ripe, slightly dried fruit and soft tannin cool mild spice rather than fighting it. The vanilla and pepper in the wine echo a tandoori marinade. One Virgin customer says it is great with spicy lamb; keep the heat mild or medium.
Try with: Tandoori lamb chops · Lamb bhuna · Lamb seekh kebab · Lamb Kebab · More pairings →
The freshness the early-picked Frappato brings keeps this red lively next to a tomato-based ragu. The ripe Nero d'Avola matches the sauce's sweetness. Pasta is on Vivino's list of matches.
Try with: Ragu alla bolognese · Lasagna · Agnello Ragu Lucano · Pizza Diavola · More pairings →
Salt in a hard, aged cheese makes the plum and dried-fruit notes of a partly withered Nero d'Avola taste rounder and sweeter. The soft tannin never clashes with the fat. A Sicilian caciocavallo is the natural choice.
Try with: Caciocavallo farcito · Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · Frico · Cheese board · More pairings →
A full-bodied red at a modest 13.5% matches the weight of a long braise without overpowering it. The tobacco and leather notes drinkers find suit dark, slow-cooked gravies.
Try with: Beef stew · Lamb shank · Venison Stew · Leg of lamb · More pairings →
Oak and ripe, partly dried fruit turn raw fish metallic and make a hot chilli burn hotter. A sharp, sour dish makes the wine taste flat, and a sweet pudding makes a dry red taste thin. Keep it for meat, pasta and cheese.
Skip with: Oysters · Sashimi · Green curry · Som Tam · Cheesecake · Pairing guide →
Virgin Wines gives the 2024 a window from now to the end of 2030. It is made to drink young; store it on its side away from heat and open it well before then.
Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Made to drink young. It will soften over the years to 2030 rather than gain complexity, so there is no reason to wait.
£16.99 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 8 Sep 2026, 00:22 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumOur 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 · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumThe Biscardo family, winemakers since 1878, now run by brothers Maurizio and Martino Biscardo. Virgin Wines names Maurizio as the winemaker and sells the wine as its own label. The family's Sicilian label, Baglio Gibellina, makes a sister wine called U Passimiento from the same two grapes.
Nero d'Avola and Frappato, two native Sicilian red grapes. The Nero d'Avola is left to wither on the vine before picking, which concentrates its sugar; the Frappato is picked early to keep the blend fresh.
Passimiento is the wine's brand name. It refers to the Nero d'Avola being dried before pressing, which Virgin's buyer Alex Davies calls an ancient winemaking technique. The Frappato is picked early, and the finished wine is 13.5%.
Ripe plum and blackberry with vanilla, tobacco and a little pepper, then a full but fresh palate with soft tannin. Vivino drinkers mention plum and blackberry most, then oak and vanilla; Virgin's customers call it smooth and slightly peppery.
£16.99 a bottle at Virgin Wines, the only UK shop we track with it, and every bottle carries Virgin's money-back guarantee.
Grilled beef and lamb, spiced lamb and mild curries, rich pasta and aged cheese. Vivino's experts list beef, lamb and pasta; one Virgin customer praises it with spicy lamb. Avoid raw fish, sour salads and fierce chilli.
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