Acitana is a red

Italian wine Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Vit ...

that is grown in northeast

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

where it is often blended with Nerello Cappuccio and

Nerello Mascalese Nerello is a name given to two varieties of red wine grapes that are grown primarily in Sicily and Sardinia.J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 213 Mitchell Beazley 1986 *''Nerello Mascalese'', which is named after the Mascali area in C ...

around the village of

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 in ...

though Acitana is officially not a permitted variety for wines labeled under the local Faro DOC.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 5 Allen Lane 2012

History

Map of Metropolitan city of Catania (region Sicily, Italy)

Ampelographers Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of the ...

believe that Acitana is likely native to the island of Sicily and may have originated near of Catania on the east coast of the island. Northeast of Catania are several villages in the

province of Catania The Province of Catania ( it, Provincia di Catania; scn, Pruvincia di Catania) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1 ...

with names that begin with ''Aci'', such as

Aci Sant'Antonio Aci Sant'Antonio ( scn, Jaci Sant'Antoniu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region of Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northeast of Catania. The ''frazione'' of Santa Mar ...

Acireale Acireale (; scn, Jaciriali, locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. ...

Aci Catena Aci Catena ( scn, Jaci Catina) is a town and ''comune'' in Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. Main sights Among the churches in town are the Santuario Maria Santissima della Catena and Santa Lucia. Twin towns * Ceuta, Spain ...

Aci Castello Aci Castello ( scn, Jaci Casteḍḍu) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, Italy. The city is located north of Catania on the Mediterranean coast. The primary economic sectors are agriculture and industry (in Catania) ...

and

Aci Bonaccorsi Aci Bonaccorsi ( scn, Jaci Bonaccossi) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about northeast of Catania. Aci Bonaccorsi borders the followin ...

, so it is possible that the name ''Acitana'' could be a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words

Wine regions

While historically, Acitana was once widely throughout the provinces of Catania and

, today it is mostly found near in Messina. While not officially recognized for use in the red ''

Denominazione di origine controllata The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English language, English: “designatio ...

'' (DOC) wine of Faro, the grape is sometimes used for '' vino da tavola'' red bends with Nerello Cappuccio and Nerello Mascalese.

Synonyms

Over the years, Acitana has also been known under the synonym Citana .

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung G ...

(VIVC)
Acitana
'' Accessed: February 15th, 2014

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties