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Places off the beaten track often have the greatest stories to tell, and islands in particular possess a certain raw magic. Away from the traditions of the mainland, their vintners abide by their own laws and values. We round up the names to watch.
Pantelleria, Italy
While Luca Guadagnino¡¯s A Bigger Splash nudged this sun-soaked volcanic rock into the spotlight, it was already quietly famous for two things: its capers and the sweet Passito wines made from Muscat grapes. Gabrio Bini, once an architect in Milan, makes both, but it¡¯s the golden Zibibbo, aged slowly in terracotta pots, that has given his Azienda Agricola Serragghia label a cult following. Young couple Francesco and Nicoletta Ferreri of Tanca Nica are also making an impact with their lively natural wines: Firri Firri, a ros¨¦ blend of white and red grapes, is a fresh riff on what farmers have made from the island¡¯s UNESCO-designated vines for aeons. Sample it alongside ravioli stuffed with ricotta and fresh sea urchin at their favourite hangout, Osteria Il Principe e il Pirata.
Now read our guide to Pantelleria, Italy
Pictured: Terraced landscape and hills at sunset, Pantelleria
Madeira, Portugal
Etched into dramatic cliffs, organic Faj? dos Padres is reachable only by boat or cable car. While its farm now grows exotic fruits such as mangoes and prickly pears, vines were the original crop here, planted more than three centuries ago. The current owners have been reviving Malvasia fortified wine since the 1980s, and the results are very elemental; a little drier than usual, it¡¯s the perfect aperitif. Fish is always on the menu at their small restaurant ¨C try a local variety such as grilled bodi?o, then stay over in one of the nine converted houses.
Pictured: Mountains on Madeira
Tinos, Greece
Former Parisian art dealer J¨¦r?me Charles Binda and his wife were drawn to this Cycladic island by its eclectic history, rugged landscape and ancient vines. Tinos is dotted with whitewashed churches and the rock formations of Falatados, remnants of a battle between gods and giants, as Greek mythology would have it. In 2011 Bindabegan making Domaine de Kalathas wines, working with long-forgotten local grape varieties at his small, solar- powered winery in the south. Head to taverna Exomeria in Isternia to tuck into chunks of salty kariki cheese witha glass of his crisp white, O Zontanos (¡®The Live One¡¯).
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Pictured: Drystone wall on Pantelleria
Corsica, France
Muriel Giudicelli, whose family is of Corsican heritage, spent many summers on the island as a child but only moved here in 1996, buying up a small plot of old vines in the northern region of Patrimonio. Wines have been cultivated on Corsica since Phoenician times, and in the past 50 years its forgotten culture has been resurrected. Raise a toast to it with a bottle of her spicy Domaine Giudicelli red with a generous serving of wild-boar lasagna (from free-roaming animals), or roast pork from black Nustrale pigs fed on chestnuts, on the terrace of MaThyS restaurant in the nearby village of Saint-Florent.
Pictured: Palms in Madeira
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