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 Viti ...

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 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 Catan ...

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 Catan ...

around the village of

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the 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 inhabitants in ...

though Acitana is officially not a permitted variety for wines labeled under the local

Faro DOC Faro may refer to: Places Africa * Faro (department), North Province, Cameroon * Faro National Park, Cameroon Americas * Faro, Pará, Brazil, a municipality * Faro, Yukon, Canada, a town ** Faro (electoral district) ** Faro Airport (Yukon) ** ...

.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 believe that Acitana is likely native to the island of Sicily and may have originated near of

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

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 Ma ...

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, Spai ...

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 following ...

, 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 classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tipic ...

'' (DOC) wine of Faro, the grape is sometimes used for ''

vino da tavola Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fortifi ...

'' 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 Gei ...

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

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties