2023 Occhipinti, Terre Siciliane IGT, Siccagno Nero d'Avola

Arianna Occhipinti works in Vittoria, in southeastern Sicily, on red sand over limestone. She came up through her uncle Giusto (COS) and built her own estate from abandoned vines, focusing on native varieties and traditional farming.

Siccagno is 100% Nero d’Avola from ~35-year-old vines, trained in alberello and guyot. Fermented with native yeasts in concrete, with a long ~30-day maceration, then aged ~22 months in large Slavonian botti, bottled unfined and unfiltered.

This is her more serious red—still rooted in Vittoria’s lighter soils, but with more depth and structure than SP68. Dark fruit, herbs, and earth, with a frame that holds it together without pushing weight.