Nero d'Avola Wine Tours

Sicily's signature red. Nero d'Avola is the most planted red grape on the island, named after the town of Avola in the south-east, and still known as Calabrese in the Italian vine registry. Grown alone it makes a dark, ripe, full-bodied red; blended with Frappato around Vittoria it makes the lighter Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily's only DOCG. It is grown all over the island, so where you taste it changes the glass more than the label does.

Dry, almost always. It is a dry red table wine with ripe dark-fruit flavour, which some people mistake for sweetness. The genuinely sweet wines of the same south-eastern corner are made from Moscato, not Nero d'Avola, and a Val di Noto tasting will often pour a sweet Moscato di Noto at the end of the flight so you can compare the two.

From the Val di Noto and Avola: dark cherry and plum, warmth, soft tannin and a full body, the product of limestone soil and a hot climate. From Vittoria as Cerasuolo: paler, more fragrant and lighter on the palate because Frappato makes up 30 to 50 percent of the blend. From the west near Alcamo: fresher and, at the natural-wine estates, lighter still. If you only taste one, the Val di Noto tasting pours the classic version.

At the source: the estates around Noto, Pachino, Marzamemi and Avola. The tastings there start at $29 and are the cheapest cellar visits on the island. For the DOCG blend, the wineries around Vittoria and Ragusa. If you have no car, Bottega Monteleone in Palermo pours five regional wines with tapas for $51 and is rated 4.8 / 5 from 924 reviews, the most of any wine tasting in Sicily.

Estate tastings compared here run from $29 for three wines with a snack near Marzamemi, through $41 to $59 for four to six wines with local food in the Val di Noto, near Ragusa or near Alcamo, up to $70 for a tasting with a light lunch. The Palermo tasting room is $51. None of the estate options includes transport; that is the hidden cost if you are not driving.

For the estates, yes, or a taxi. Every vineyard tasting on this page excludes transport and sits in open countryside. The Noto page lists the one Syracuse pick-up day that includes the driving. The no-car alternative is the Palermo tasting room, which is in the city centre and takes evening bookings.

Sicily's only DOCG wine, granted in 2005: a blend of 50 to 70 percent Nero d'Avola with 30 to 50 percent Frappato, from the sandy red soils around Vittoria in the province of Ragusa. It is lighter and more perfumed than a straight Nero d'Avola. The winery tour and tasting near Ragusa at $45 and the organic winery with light lunch at $70 both pour it; the second also pours a Frappato sparkling.

Yes on every option here. The estates pair the wines with local products: almonds, olives, bread and oil in the Val di Noto; scacce, cheeses and taralli near Ragusa; cheese, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and fruit near Alcamo; brunch near Partinico. A couple of options are a light lunch. The Palermo tasting's snacks add up to a light meal according to the operator.

Spring and autumn are the comfortable seasons, and the vineyard walks are at their best in May and June before the heat and in September and October around harvest. The south-east is the hottest part of Sicily in July and August, so pick a late-afternoon slot if you visit then. Note that estates skip the vineyard walk in rain and only run the cellar and tasting. See the best time guide for the month-by-month picture.

They are different enough that it depends on what you like. Nero d'Avola is generous, dark and easy to enjoy; Etna reds are Nerello Mascalese, pale, taut and closer to a Burgundy or a Barolo in style. Where you are staying usually decides it: the south-east and Palermo for Nero d'Avola, Taormina and Catania for Etna. The best wine tours in Sicily comparison puts both side by side.