Nero d'Avola Wine

Sicily’s most popular grape variety, Nero d’Avola is a black wine grape that creates dry, rounded red wines packed with dark-fruit flavors and warming hints of pepper and sweet spices. It gets its name from the southeastern town of Avola, literally translated to mean “Black of Avola.” The variety was originally called Calabrese, despite having no ties to the region.

It’s one of Italy’s most important native wine grape varieties, alongside Montepulciano, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. This grape comes into its own in warmer climates, and its wines echo that, often featuring rich, succulent flavors of red and black fruits. These flavors are balanced by a peppery kick and robust tannins.

Nero d’Avola wines are generally bold, full-bodied and bursting with character. When the wines are aged in oak, they can gain extra layers of vanilla and espresso flavors.

Read our beginner’s guide to Italian wine.

Nero d’Avola is a red grape variety native to the Italian island of Sicily—the grape’s heartland—and it is here that the majority of Nero d’Avola is grown. It originated around the town of Avola in the southeast of the island, which is reflected in its name, meaning “Black of Avola.”

The grape is grown throughout the island. It thrives particularly in the southern part of the island, in areas like Menfi and Noto. These warmer southern climates fully ripen the Nero d’Avola grapes, resulting in more robust, full-bodied wines.

The grape is also found in Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily’s only DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), where it is blended with Frappato to create a lighter, more aromatic red wine. There are also small plantings of Nero d’Avola in Puglia and Tuscany.

Over the years, the cultivation of Nero d’Avola has expanded beyond Sicily due to its ability to thrive in hot, arid climates. You can now find it grown in Mendocino County, California and warm Australian wine regions like McLaren Vale and Riverland.

Despite this, most Nero d’Avola wine still comes from Sicily, and it plays a crucial role in the island’s winemaking identity.

Nero d’Avola makes ruby red wines that are rich and full of tannins, with just the right amount of balancing acidity. However, the grape shows different characteristics depending on the climate and soil in which it is grown. When planted in cooler places, like the high hillsides on Sicily’s eastern coast, the tannins get smoother, creating a lighter and more medium-bodied wine. In contrast, Nero d’Avola wines from warmer, lower-altitude vineyards are fuller-bodied and more robust.

When aged in oak barrels, Nero d’Avola wines develop complex additional aromas and flavors of vanilla, other baking spices and cocoa. While some of the wines can benefit from oak aging, many Nero d’Avola wines are unoaked and meant to be enjoyed in their “youth.”

In the past, Sicilian winemakers exported Nero d’Avola grapes to the Italian mainland for use in red wine blends, as the grape can add body and color to lighter varieties (and the grape wasn’t usually mentioned on the label). Today, though, Nero d’Avola is a big deal in Sicily’s wine scene, often blended with Shiraz to create robust, fruity and aromatic reds. People also started appreciating Nero d’Avola for its own merits in the late 1990s, realizing its unique characteristics make for a tremendous single-variety wine.

Oh, and don’t forget rosé! Because Nero d’Avola has such a deep color, it’s perfect for making Italian rosé wines, or “rosatos.” These wines taste fresh and fruity, with flavors like strawberry, honeydew melon and peach—just the thing for a hot summer’s day.

Nero d’Avola wines are usually packed with rich, dark-fruit flavors. You might taste black cherry, blackberry or plum. You might also find hints of red fruits like raspberry or red cherry in some of these wines.

This type of wine often has a spicy kick with a distinctive black pepper note. It also might have some earthy undertones, adding hints of licorice, cocoa or even a bit of minerality.

When Nero d’Avola wines get to spend some time aging in oak barrels, they become even richer. This process deepens their flavor, adding notes of vanilla, espresso, cedar and chocolate.

Nero d’Avola is a strong red wine with bold fruity flavors, making it the perfect match for rich, meaty dishes. Think of pairing it with foods like grilled steak, roast lamb or slow-cooked pork. The high tannin levels and moderate acidity in Nero d’Avola can balance the intense flavors and cut through the richness of red meat dishes.

It also goes well with traditional Sicilian pasta dishes, especially those with thick tomato sauces, eggplant or meat. Try it with Pasta alla Norma, a Sicilian dish made with tomatoes, fried eggplant, grated ricotta cheese and basil. The high acidity and bold flavors in Nero d’Avola also pair well with pizza—especially ones topped with meat or grilled veggies. Spicy dishes also get along nicely with Nero d’Avola’s full-bodied character and ripe fruit flavors. It’s also an excellent match for grilled mushrooms, black lentil stew or pasta puttanesca.

Nero d’Avola is best served slightly cooler than room temperature, around 60-65ºF. This allows the flavors to express themselves fully without the alcohol becoming too prominent. If the wine is stored in a cooler place, take it out a little beforehand to warm it slightly. If it’s stored at room temperature, consider chilling it in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes before serving.

Nero d’Avola, especially well-aged bottles, can benefit from decanting, which will help soften the tannins and release the wine’s full spectrum of aromas and flavors. Pour the wine into a decanter and let it sit for about 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

Serve your Nero d’Avola of choice in an oversized red wine glass. The larger bowl is perfect for helping the wine to aerate and release its delicious, fruity aromas.