The Alcamo DOC comes from the hills that run from Alcamo to Calatafimi Segesta, between the provinces of Trapani and Palermo, in western Sicily; over time the area was extended to neighbouring municipalities. The historic area keeps the Classico mention. Recognised in 1972, it has about 160 hectares of vineyard and an output of 9,900 hectolitres.
The Catarratto Bianco
The local tradition is white. The Bianco requires at least 60% Catarratto, with Ansonica, Chardonnay, Grecanico Dorato, Grillo, Müller-Thurgau and Sauvignon up to 40%; the Bianco Classico, made only in the historic subzone, rises to at least 80% Catarratto. Then there are the varietal whites, each with at least 85% of the named grape: Ansonica, Catarratto, Chardonnay, Grecanico, Grillo, Müller-Thurgau and Sauvignon. The Spumante and the Vendemmia Tardiva also derive from the Bianco.
Reds and rosés
The Rosso requires at least 60% Nero d'Avola, also called Calabrese here, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Frappato, Merlot, Perricone, Sangiovese and Syrah up to 40%. The Rosso Riserva ages for at least two years, 6 months of them in cask, and cannot be released before 1 December of the second year after the harvest. The varietal reds are Cabernet Sauvignon, Calabrese or Nero d'Avola, Merlot and Syrah; the range is completed by the Novello, the Rosato, from any proportion of the permitted red grapes including Nerello Mascalese, and the Rosato Spumante. Minimum alcohol is 11%.
The Catarratto Bianco is straw yellow with greenish glints, with aromas of white flowers, citrus and herbs, fresh and savoury; the Nero d'Avola Rosso has ripe red fruit, spice and soft tannins.
At the table
The Bianco goes with the seafood cooking of the Trapani area, from fish couscous to sarde a beccafico; the Rosato with vegetable pasta and oily fish; the Rosso with grilled meat and Sicilian cheeses such as pecorino. On the same western coast lie the wines of the Marsala DOC, and inland from Palermo those of the Monreale DOC.
