ome historians claim that grapes were grown on the skirts of the Etna and in the area surrounding Agrigentum long before the first contact between the islanders and Phoenician merchants. The discovery of the so-called "ampelide" vines on the island shows that vines grew here millions of years ago.
The earliest accounts of the production of Mamertino wine date back to 289 B.C., when the inhabitants of this land (the Mamertini) planted "a precious vine for the production of a precious wine." This wine was deemed so good that it was served at the banquet for the celebration of the third anniversary of the consulship of Julius Caesar. Caesar mentions this event in his book "De Bello Gallico."
Strabo, the great Roman geographer, claimed that Mamertino was the best wine of his time, while Pliny the Elder placed it fourth among 195 wines. Elsewhere, Martial wrote: "Give the Mamertino whatever name you want; give it perhaps the name of the best of wines."
Nowadays, Mamertino di Milazzo D.O.C. is produced in four varieties: white, red, Calabrese (or Nero d’Avola) and Grillo-Ansonica. As further proof of their excellent quality, the first three of these varieties also have a Riserva appellation that calls for 24 months of aging, six of which in wooden barrels.
