“Nero d’Avola” Is Avola’s Name; “Calabrese” Is a Name With a Divided Origin

Sicily’s signature black grape, Nero d’Avola, carries another name. For the origin of that name, “Calabrese,” multiple accounts still stand side by side today. This traces the story of two names carried by a single grape variety.

Key Facts

The Story Behind the Name

The Black Grape the Town of Avola Chose

Nero d’Avola literally means “the black grape of Avola” in Italian. It is a variety said to have been selected by growers around the town of Avola in southeastern Sicily, and that place name was carried directly into the variety’s name. Today it is positioned as one of the island’s signature black grape varieties within a broader framework — the “Sicilia DOC” (one of the appellation categories that govern the origin of Italian wine), which covers the entire region of Sicily. The fact that a varietal name carries a place name within it is the starting point for reading the story behind this variety’s name.

1696: A Name Recorded in a Single Text

Records of this variety trace back to the end of the 17th century. In “Hortus Catholicus,” written in 1696 by the Sicilian botanist Francesco Cupani, this variety is recorded under the name “Calavrisi.” This record is one that the Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Sicilia — the protection consortium that oversees Sicilia DOC wines — states officially (the original text itself has not been directly verified). Despite a record from the late 17th century, the variety is sometimes mistaken for a new or modern one.

“Calabrese”: A Name Whose Origin Remains Unresolved

Nero d’Avola carries another name: “Calabrese.” On the origin of this name, the Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Sicilia explains on its official website that it presumably derives from the old Sicilian words “Calea” and “Aulisi” — meaning “grape of Avola.” Because the consortium itself attaches this qualification, the origin cannot be treated as settled. At the same time, as the name itself suggests, a view is also reported that it derives from the Calabria region on the Italian mainland to the south, and the two accounts do not agree. The fact that the origin of this same nickname continues to be handed down with divided explanations is, itself, the core of the story surrounding this variety’s name.

Three Things to Look for on the Label

1. The wording “Sicilia DOC” alongside “Nero d’Avola” — check whether the broad appellation name and the varietal name are printed together.
2. Whether a DOC neck band (fascetta) is present — wine bottles labeled as DOC customarily carry this seal.
3. Whether the label reads “Nero d’Avola” or “Calabrese” — the latter wording is rare on modern commercial labels.

Common Confusions

1. Mistaking the nickname “Calabrese” as a sign that the variety originates in the Calabria region — in fact it originates in Sicily, and no confirmed link to Calabria’s growing areas has been established.
2. Mistaking “Nero d’Avola” for an appellation name (a DOC name) — it is in fact a varietal name; the appellation used is the broader “Sicilia DOC” and similar designations.
3. Assuming the variety is new or modern despite records from the late 17th century — there is a documented reference dating to 1696.

Next Region

The journey from north to south has reached Avola, on the island of Sicily. Here, for now, this journey through names comes to a pause.

← Back to the series hub — Italian Wine Through Names and Places

Sources

1. Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Sicilia official varietal page, “The Grapes” (presumed etymology of Calabrese; states the 1696 Cupani record) — https://www.siciliadoc.wine/en/the-grapes
2. en.italiani.it, “The Story Behind ‘Black D’Avola'” (account of the spread of the name “Calabrese” in the 19th century) — https://en.italiani.it/black-davola-story/