Wine Arcana

Grape

Catarratto

Also known as Catarratto Bianco Comune, Catarratto Bianco Lucido

Catarratto is a white Vitis vinifera grape grown throughout Sicily, with a particularly strong presence in the west. Its wines can combine citrus and floral aromas with substantial texture and a gently bitter finish. It supplies varietal dry whites, regional blends, and grapes for Marsala.

The names Catarratto Bianco Comune and Catarratto Bianco Lucido describe different forms of the same variety. Although separately listed in Italy's national register, they share the same microsatellite DNA profile. The Italian Vitis Database treats them as biotypes with visible and compositional differences.1. G. Ansaldi et al., “Catarratto,” Italian Vitis Database, 2015, historical and varietal-variation accounts. Lucido refers to the berries' glossy appearance.

Growth and variation

Catarratto's considerable variation matters to growers. The regional collection includes material differing in bunch size, productivity, and the balance of alcohol and acidity in its wines. Some selections produce larger crops more consistently than others. Short pruning and systems that retain a replacement fruiting cane are both used.

In a productive vineyard, the number of shoots and bunches affects the vine's demand for water and the time needed to ripen its crop. Pruning sets the initial crop potential; subsequent canopy management controls foliage and exposure. These decisions become particularly consequential when summer water is scarce.

Trapani, Palermo, and Agrigento are important growing areas. Catarratto also reaches eastern Sicily, where it contributes to local white blends. Differences in elevation, exposure, and the intended wine give growers reasons to harvest at different stages of maturity.

Dry whites and texture

Catarratto can retain freshness alongside a fairly broad palate. Orange blossom and citrus are useful points of recognition, while some wines show herbal impressions or a bitter almond-like finish. These traits vary among selections and with cellar handling.

Agricola Cortese's Nostru Catarratto Lucido provides one example of a dry wine shaped by harvest and sediment contact. Its technical account describes vineyards at about 400 metres, early-morning picking around mid-September, gentle pressing, and cool settling before fermentation. The wine then spends about five months on fine lees, with regular stirring.2. Agricola Cortese, Catarratto Lucido: Terre Siciliane, technical sheet, accessed 11 September 2026. Lees ageing can add breadth to the texture, while harvesting cool fruit limits heating during transport and pressing.

In Sicilian blends

Catarratto's western history includes the vineyards supplying Marsala. On Etna, the Bianco specification permits up to 40% Catarratto Comune or Lucido alongside a minimum of 60% Carricante.3. Ministero dell'agricoltura, della sovranità alimentare e delle foreste, Disciplinare di produzione della DOC Etna, article 2, accessed 11 September 2026. A producer can therefore use Catarratto as a substantial component of the mountain's white wine, with the final balance depending on the proportions and the fruit harvested.

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