What is Nero d'Avola?Sicily's great red grape, and the bottle on our list at Fiena, King's Cross

Nero d'Avola means "black of Avola". It's named after Avola, a small town in the far south-east of Sicily, where growers are thought to have selected the grape several hundred years ago. For a long time it stayed on the southern tip of the island, but it has since spread right across Sicily, and it's now described as the most important red wine grape on the island and one of Italy's most important native varieties.

Sicilians, particularly older ones, also call it Calabrese. That sounds as if it comes from Calabria, on the mainland, but the name is widely accepted to be an Italianisation of the old dialect name Calavrisi, meaning "grape from Avola". Background from Wikipedia's Nero d'Avola page.

The vine likes a hot, fairly dry climate, which Sicily has in abundance. The districts around Noto and Pachino, in the south of the province of Siracusa, are known for the quality of their Nero d'Avola. Away from Italy, it's now grown in places with similar summers: Australia's hot Riverland and Sunraysia regions, California, Malta, Turkey and South Africa.

It also stars in Sicily's only DOCG wine, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, from around the town of Vittoria. The rules require between 50% and 70% Nero d'Avola, with the local Frappato grape making up the rest. Cerasuolo means "cherry red", after the colour of the blend. It became a DOC in 1973 and was upgraded to DOCG in 2005, the first in Sicily. Background from Wikipedia's Cerasuolo di Vittoria page.

Nero d'Avola is usually cherry or ruby red in the glass, with a fruity nose that's often compared to blackberries. On the palate it's dry, warm, rounded and full-bodied. Its wines are often compared to New World Shiraz, with sweet tannins and plum or peppery flavours. It's a red to serve at room temperature, not chilled.

On our drinks menu, the Vitis Nostra Nero d'Avola is listed as coming from Sicily: a full-bodied dry red with rich aromas of black cherries, red berries and dried fruits, accented by hints of chocolate and spice. Ask our team about glasses and bottles when you order.

It sits in the middle of our red list. For a medium-bodied alternative, try the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, or the Cara Amica Sangiovese with its cherry and red berry aromas; and if you'd like to compare it with a Shiraz, there's one on the list too. For something grander, there's the Barolo and the Fidora Amarone. See our guide to our Italian wine list.

Guests often mention the drinks as well as the food. R C, who had pasta and risotto, wrote: The drinks were also really good. (Google review) And David found that you can feel that the meat is fresh and of high standard (David, Google review), which is exactly what you want alongside a full-bodied red.

A big, fruity red like Nero d'Avola is made for rich, savoury food. From our main menu:

• Lamb cutlets, grilled, with beef jus and roasted potatoes.
• Lasagna, with slow-cooked beef ragù, creamy béchamel, mozzarella and parmesan.
• Spaghetti bolognese, with slow-cooked beef ragù.
• Diavola pepperoni pizza, with tomato, mozzarella, pepperoni and spicy nduja.
• Saltimbocca alla Romana, pan-fried veal with Parma ham and sage.

See our posts on lasagna, spaghetti bolognese, saltimbocca and nduja and the Diavola. And because the tasting note mentions chocolate, a last glass with the warm Chocolate brownie from our dessert menu is worth a try.

“the food wasn’t far off from the real deal”

John, Google review, 2026