Pantelleria is very different from much of Italy: volcanic in origin, its landscape is rocky and sculpted by lava. The island is closer to Africa than it is to Sicily (70 kilometers/43.4 miles versus 85 kilometers/52.8 miles), and falls within the province of Trapani, which is located to its west. Its spectacular landscape is the perfect backdrop for the island’s age-old agriculture and manmade artefacts: ancient drystone walls, Pantesco gardens, which are round constructions made of lava rock that shelter crops from the island’s strong, perpetual winds. This timeless agricultural tradition not only features such specialties as IGP caper varieties, raisins, ricotta and Tumma cheese, but delightful grape varieties like Zibibbo, AKA Moscato d’Alessandria (Muscat of Alexandria). One of the vast family of Muscat grapes, originating in Asia Minor and characterized by their unique and intense aromas, it has nothing to do with the Piedmont town of Alessandria. Its origin is Egyptian, and it was brought to the island by the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians, who found Pantelleria the ideal hub for Mediterranean trade and navigation. The grape bunches are big and elongated, almost conical-pyramidal in shape. The berries themselves are large, succulent and pulpy, with thick, yellowish-green skins. (Moscato d’Alessandria can also be enjoyed as table grapes.) The alternate name of Zibibbo derives from the Arab word zabīb, meaning “raisin.” The variety finds its most exquisite expression right here, on the island of Pantelleria, thanks to the volcanic soil and the cultivation system, where the vines are bush-trained extremely close to the soil – almost underground, in holes that are dug in the soil itself. The term alberello in Italian – is directly derived from ancient Greek, and especially beneficial in dry climates: the vines are, as it were, “huddled” close to the ground and thus sheltered from excessive solar radiation; vegetation is ideally ventilated; the grapes ripen beautifully thanks to the heat emanating from the soil itself, and capture every drop of humidity in the ground.Pantelleria is very different from much of Italy: volcanic in origin, its landscape is rocky and sculpted by lava. The island is closer to Africa than it is to Sicily (70 kilometers/43.4 miles versus 85 kilometers/52.8 miles), and falls within the province of Trapani, which is located to its west. Its spectacular landscape is the perfect backdrop for the island’s age-old agriculture and manmade artefacts: ancient drystone walls, Pantesco gardens, which are round constructions made of lava rock that shelter crops from the island’s strong, perpetual winds. This timeless agricultural tradition not only features such specialties as IGP caper varieties, raisins, ricotta and Tumma cheese, but delightful grape varieties like Zibibbo, AKA Moscato d’Alessandria (Muscat of Alexandria). One of the vast family of Muscat grapes, originating in Asia Minor and characterized by their unique and intense aromas, it has nothing to do with the Piedmont town of Alessandria. Its origin is Egyptian, and it was brought to the island by the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians, who found Pantelleria the ideal hub for Mediterranean trade and navigation. The grape bunches are big and elongated, almost conical-pyramidal in shape. The berries themselves are large, succulent and pulpy, with thick, yellowish-green skins. (Moscato d’Alessandria can also be enjoyed as table grapes.) The alternate name of Zibibbo derives from the Arab word zabīb, meaning “raisin.” The variety finds its most exquisite expression right here, on the island of Pantelleria, thanks to the volcanic soil and the cultivation system, where the vines are bush-trained extremely close to the soil – almost underground, in holes that are dug in the soil itself. The term alberello in Italian – is directly derived from ancient Greek, and especially beneficial in dry climates: the vines are, as it were, “huddled” close to the ground and thus sheltered from excessive solar radiation; vegetation is ideally ventilated; the grapes ripen beautifully thanks to the heat emanating from the soil itself, and capture every drop of humidity in the ground.
Map of the region
