Pantelleria is a volcanic island in the middle of the Strait of Sicily, closer to Africa than to Sicily, yet part of the province of Trapani. Its appellation was created in 1971 for Moscato and took its current name, Pantelleria DOC, in 2013, bringing all the island's wines under one name. Vineyards cover about 430 hectares, with an output of 9,610 hectolitres.
One island, one grape
Everything revolves around Zibibbo, the local name for Muscat of Alexandria. The Bianco contains at least 85% and may be still, sparkling, dry or sweet; all the other styles are made from Zibibbo alone. There are Zibibbo Dolce, Moscato and Moscato Spumante, and then the dessert wines: Passito, Moscato Dorato, Moscato Liquoroso and Passito Liquoroso.
The most famous is the Passito, made from grapes left to dry in the island's sun and wind. It ages for several months and cannot be released before 1 July of the year after the harvest; the fortified Passito Liquoroso is ready from 1 February. In the glass the Passito is amber, with aromas of dried apricot, fig, date, honey and candied orange peel, sweet but supported by good freshness.
Viticulture in an extreme setting
The appellation covers only wines produced on the island. Sun, constant wind and little water have led growers to train the vines low, as bush vines, in hollows dug into the ground to shelter them from the gusts, on terraces held up by dry-stone walls of lava rock. It is almost entirely manual work, which explains the low yields and the price of these wines.
From Moscato to Pantelleria
The recent history of the appellation is one of changing names: first Moscato Passito di Pantelleria, then the split between Moscato and Passito, and finally a single DOC named after the island. The Passito remains one of Italy's great sweet wines, alongside Malvasia delle Lipari and Marsala: with dry pastries, blue cheeses, or simply on its own at the end of a meal.
