| Grape variety |
Nero d'Avola |
| Synonyms |
calabrese, calabrese nero, nero d'Avola, calabrese d'Avola, calabrese pizzuto. |
| Grape colour |
Red grape |
| Variety |
Autochthonous |
| Vigour |
Excellent |
| Ripening |
First fifteen days in September. |
| Productivity |
Medium and regular. |
| Areas of cultivation |
It is spread mainly in eastern Sicily (Pachino and Noto) and in western (agrigento, marsalese and palermitano). |
| History |
Origin uncertain though its synonym Calabrese suggests a provenance from Calabria, in fact not certified as the vine has been cultivated in Sicily for many centuries. It is also known by the synonyms Calabrese d'Avola, Calabrese black, Calabrese pizzutello and Calabrese sweet. In other versions of the etymology of the word Calabrese, reference is made to an erroneous interpretation of the insular dialect of the term calaurisi, from the words calea, with the meaning of grapes, and aulisi, indicating the origin from Avola, in the province of Syracuse. Another interpretation is the use of the Calabrian term for purely commercial reasons since the wines from Calabria were well known and easily sold abroad, especially in France, up to the eighteenth, or up to the advent of Marsala. Since the late nineteenth century however, the Sicilian wines had already been made known, and in particular those vinified by Nero d'Avola in the present province of Syracuse, specifically from the territory of Pachino. These were very much in vogue and especially appreciated by the cousins of the Alps. In the previous centuries, Black d'Avola was instead used exclusively for cutting. After a long gestation of pure wines, beginning in the seventies of the twentieth century, Nero d'Avola assumed today's character, with the production of excellent international wines. |
| Ampelographic features |
Leaf: large, orbicular, whole; Free-lance breast open or open, sometimes also in closed lira with superimposed edges; Plan apical lobe; Corner at the top of the terminal lobes, dull; Greenish-darker side, wavy, thick, opaque and glabrous; Lower-light-green page, arachnoid; Green ribs, top and bottom; Lower ribs of I and II order aracnoids, protruding those of order I and II; Irregular teeth; Little pronounced and mucronate; Irregular margins and wide base.
Bunch: Medium, conical, winged (with a wing), often composed, of medium appearance; Visible peduncle, semi-woody, large; Medium, green pedicel; Evident searches, green; Short brush, easily separable from the mouthpiece.
Acino: medium, ellipsoid or ovoid, regular, with regular cross-section (circular); Bluish skin, regularly distributed; Pruinosa, of medium thickness and bark; Prominent navel; Juicy flesh, simple flavor; Colorless juice. |
| Characteristics of the wine obtained from this grape variety |
Provides powerful, powerful, deep-flavored wines and the ability to age in wood. The color supplied to the wine is a nice intense ruby with purple shades that tend to garnet with aging. The olfactory range ranges from purple to complex to sweet spices such as licorice and cloves. The fruity stage includes sea, raspberries, plums, cherries and blackcurrants. With aging, more and more shades of chocolate and tertiary flavors of leather and tobacco. |