About Duca di Salaparuta
Duca di Salaparuta is one of Sicily's oldest and most established wine producers, founded in 1824 by Edoardo Alliata di Villafranca, Duke of Salaparuta, near Palermo. The estate is best known for Corvo, a widely distributed Sicilian table wine, as well as Duca Enrico, a single-varietal Nero d'Avola considered among the island's benchmark red wines. The winery has been owned by Illva Saronno since 2001 and continues to produce wines across a range of Sicilian appellations.
Prices are for take away and shipping. The wine bar serves from its own list.
The winery
About Duca di Salaparuta
History
Duca di Salaparuta marked its 200th year in 2024. Its story is tied to the Alliata family and the Corvo wines made in the Bagheria, Aspra and Casteldaccia area near Palermo, with the winery usually dated to 1824. Edoardo Alliata turned his father's passion into the family business.
Enrico Alliata, known as Duca Enrico, was a noted oenologist who won many awards between 1898 and 1930 and raised the winery's name. His daughter Topazia ran the company from 1946.
The land and the vineyards
The home base is Casteldaccia, on the coast east of Palermo. A second estate at Riesi, in the interior of Sicily, is linked to wines such as Passo delle Mule and Triskelè. In 2003, with the oenologist Giacomo Tachis, the company started a Pinot Noir project on Etna.
The wines
In 1984 the oenologist Franco Giacosa made the first single variety Nero d'Avola, a step that opened a new chapter for Sicilian reds. The same year Duca Enrico won the three glasses of the Gambero Rosso guide, and the wine is still produced; the range called Le Icone lists it from 1984 to 2021.
Other lines include Tenute and Autentici di Sicilia, whose labels reproduce works by Sicilian artists such as Renato Guttuso, Mimmo Pintacuda and Emilio Murdolo.
Today
Illva Saronno Holding bought the Casteldaccia company in 2001 and 2002 and then added three more estates. For the bicentenary the winery launched a project connecting its wines with the art and culture of the Bagheria area.
- Founded
- 1824
- Main grapes
- Nero d'Avola, Pinot Noir
- Owners
- Illva Saronno Holding