📍 Pantelleria

Pantelleria is a volcanic island south-west of Sicily, in the province of Trapani, and the name of the Italian wine denomination (DOC) that covers the whole island. The soils are volcanic and the climate is dry: on average about 409 millimetres of rain a year, no rain for five months in summer, and wind on about 338 days a year.

All DOC Pantelleria wines are made from the white grape Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria); only the Bianco may include up to 15% of other white grapes. Because of the strong wind, vines are traditionally grown as low bushes, alberello, planted in a hollow dug in the soil, often on terraces. This practice of the Pantelleria community was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014.

The best-known wines are sweet. Passito di Pantelleria is made from grapes dried in the sun, wholly or partly, on the vine or after picking; it is golden yellow tending to amber, sweet and aromatic, with at least 20% total alcohol by volume. Moscato di Pantelleria is made from fresh grapes and is sweet, with the aroma of Muscat. The DOC also covers a sparkling Moscato, liqueur wines, Zibibbo dolce and a white Pantelleria Bianco, also frizzante.

The name Pantelleria on a label shows that the grapes grew in this very area, which makes it easy to look for similar wines.