Wildfires, floods, storms, and heat: Earth’s climate is changing. How much do you worry about the impact of climate change on the wine we love?
We can argue, if you like, about what’s causing these changes. And we should recognize that climate change threatens not merely our glass of wine but the food we eat and the places we live.
But looking at climate change through the lens of wine production offers us a focused view that’s worth thinking about. And, significantly, the responses of grape growers and winemakers in some of the most threatened regions may provide real-world examples of approaches that work.
I can’t think of a better place to start this inquiry than Sicily. This large, triangular island just off the toe of Italy’s boot lies only about 90 miles north of Tunisia in northern Africa. There’s nothing new about hot weather in this sunbaked place, yet wine has been made here since the ancient Phoenicians brought grapevines here some 3,000 years ago.
Sicilian vineyard scene from the Sicily SOStain Foundation, a new environmental challenge aimed at guiding Sicily’s wineries towards a path of comprehensive environmental protection.
But Sicily, like other wine regions located toward the hotter edges of the climate zones where wine grapes thrive, has largely developed a reputation for simple, hearty wines better known for rustic simplicity, affordability, and quantity. Perhaps its best-known wine is not a table wine at all, but the sweet, strong, fortified Marsala, Italy’s cousin to Spain’s Sherry and Portugal’s Port.
Let’s not underestimate Sicily, though. As I wrote in my Aug. 16, 2024 column, Reevaluating Sicilian wine, “With the new century came a new wave of Sicilian winemakers, who recognized the value of the country’s ancient wine-making heritage and the more than 70 indigenous grape varieties that grow there. By returning to those roots and rediscovering traditional growing techniques, the quality of Sicilian wines has skyrocketed.”
Responding to a changing climate that raked the island with an apocalyptic combination of wildfires, vine-killing drought, and, counterintuitively, heavy rains and damaging floods, the Sicilian wine industry fought back.
“The Sicily of wine has taken up the challenge that climate change has posed and, through research, experimentation, sustainability, and the enhancement of biodiversity, is trying to handle one of the most difficult moments for Sicilian viticulture,” according to Antonio Rallo, president of the Consortium for the Protection of Sicily DOC Wines, at a 2024 conference on resilience, research, and strategy as Sicily deals with climate change in the vineyard and in the laboratory.
One key approach focuses on fostering sustainability in the vineyard. According to a survey by the University of Messina for the Sicilian wine-producer association Assovini Sicilia, 80.5% of its 100 members have introduced new technologies and methodologies in winemaking and vineyard management; 22% participate in experimental projects in the vineyards; 20.3% have initiated projects with research institutions to access cutting-edge technologies applicable in the field that can affect the quality of the products.
Today’s featured wine, Tenuta Regaleali Buonsenso Catarratto Sicilia, declares its full commitment to sustainability as a member of SOStain, a program of the Italian Environment Ministry for sustainability in Italian wine:
“We are part of a select group of winemakers, ambassadors of sustainability,” its online fact sheet states, “who have demonstrated extraordinary efforts in practicing environmentally friendly viticulture in the face of evolving climate challenges.”
Tenuta Regaleali also boasts B Corp Certification, an integrated business certification that assesses and verifies a company’s social, environmental, and governance impact.
This wine is made from Sicily’s Catarratto grape, best known for its role in Marsala; but this one is bone-dry, balanced, complex, and delicious. I won’t say you can taste sustainability in the glass, but as a response to climate change, it speaks for itself.
Wildfires, floods, storms, and heat: Earth’s climate is changing. How much do you worry about the impact of climate change on the wine we love?
Today’s Tasting Report
Tenuta Regaleali 2023 Buonsenso Catarratto Sicilia ($15.99)
Showing a clear straw color in the glass and leading with an appetizing scent of juicy pears and white grapefruit, Regaleali Buonsenso Catarratto offers rich, ripe white-fruit flavors that follow the nose. Made with no oak or malolactic fermentation but aged four months on its yeast lees, it’s balanced and intriguingly complex, with good acidic structure. Fun fact: it’s made from Sicily’s Catarratto grape, best known for its role in the region’s sweet Marsala wine, but this expression is bone-dry. 13.5% alcohol. U.S. importer: Heritage Collection Trinchero Family Estates, St. Helena, Calif. (March 28, 2026)
FOOD MATCH: It’s a natural with the seafood and fish that abounds off Sicily’s coasts. It made a happy pairing for us with bucatini with sage, garlic, butter, and olive oil.
WHEN TO DRINK: It’s a delight now but not likely to fall apart in the short term. I’d enjoy it over the next year or two.
VALUE:
Wine-Searcher.com lists a $20 average U.S. retail price, a fair price for its quality, but many vendors offer it in the middle to upper teens.
WEB LINK:
Here’s Regaleali’s online fact sheet.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Regaleali Buonsenso Catarratto on Wine-Searcher.com.
Read about Sicily’s Catarratto grape at this Wine-Searcher link.
Follow this Wine-Searcher link to read more about Sicilian wines and vineyards.
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Good wines we’ve tried under $12!
Want tips to still more good, inexpensive wines? Here are Wine-Searcher links to vendors and prices for a bunch more wines for $12 or less that I’ve told you about in recent years. In some cases, the prices may have risen since I reviewed them, but they should still be excellent bargains. Please tell us about your favorites!
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