COS
Three friends, a family garage, and the wine that dragged Sicily's forgotten southeast back to greatness — in amphorae. Here's the COS story, the Cerasuolo di Vittoria to pour, and how to visit away from the Etna crowds.
Everyone flies into Sicily for the volcano. The great story is on the other side of the island — down in the flat, sun-baked southeast around Vittoria, where three friends started a winery in a family garage in 1980 and ended up rescuing an entire appellation. That's COS, and it's the most exciting reason to skip the Etna queue.
The estate sits near the town of Vittoria, in the far southeast of Sicily, a world away from the volcanic slopes that get all the attention. The name is simply the founders' initials — Cilia, Occhipinti, Strano — three young men who decided the forgotten local wine, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, deserved to be taken seriously. It's now Sicily's only DOCG, and COS is the name most responsible for that.
The garage that became a movement
COS's whole approach reads like a rebuke to industrial winemaking. From early on the founders farmed organically, then biodynamically; they fermented with wild yeast, kept additives to a minimum, and — most distinctively — reached back thousands of years for their signature vessel. In the COS cellar you'll find rows of terracotta amphorae, where the wine ferments and ages in gentle contact with the clay, breathing without ever tasting of oak.
That choice makes the estate one of the founding names of Italy's natural-wine movement — but COS never let philosophy override deliciousness. These are wines with a point of view and a smile. The amphora-aged Pithos bottlings are the purest statement: mineral, translucent, alive with fruit, as close as modern wine gets to what the ancient Greeks who colonised this coast might have drunk.
COS proved you could be radical and joyful at once — ancient methods, forgotten grapes, and wines you actually want to drink by the bottle.
The wines
Bright, savoury, southeastern Sicilian reds built on two local grapes — and best served a touch cooler than you'd think.
Start with the Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico — the flagship, a blend of Nero d'Avola for dark-fruited structure and Frappato for perfume and lift. Red cherry, wild herbs, a savoury Mediterranean edge and a lightness that makes the bottle disappear. This is the house in a glass, and the smartest first buy.
For the philosophy in its purest form, reach for Pithos Rosso — the same blend raised in amphora, more mineral and translucent, the fruit unmasked. And don't miss the pure Frappato: pale, floral, all strawberry and violets, wonderful with a slight chill. It's Sicily's answer to a great, gulpable village red, and a revelation to anyone who thinks southern reds have to be heavy.
The setting
This is a different Sicily from the postcards — a flat, luminous plain near the baroque towns of the Val di Noto, olive groves and greenhouse-dotted country running down to the sea. The soils are sand over limestone, the light is relentless, and the wines somehow come out fresh and lifted rather than baked. The baroque cities of Ragusa, Modica and Noto — all UNESCO-listed — are right on the doorstep, which makes this one of the most rewarding corners of the island for a traveller who wants wine and culture without the crowds.
Visiting
Here's the traveller's edge: while everyone else is stuck in the Etna tasting-room scrum, COS sits in a quiet, un-touristy corner and welcomes visitors properly. You can tour the amphora cellar, taste the range, and understand the natural-wine idea from one of its founders — an experience that's both serious and warm. Book ahead and confirm current options with the estate.
Base yourself in Ragusa or Modica — beautiful baroque towns, superb food, and Modica famous in its own right for grainy, ancient-style chocolate — and fold COS into a couple of unhurried days. It's the anti-Etna trip, and all the better for it.
What to buy
Match the bottle to the moment. For your first COS, the Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico is the pick — the flagship blend, the DOCG, the whole idea in one glass. If the amphora philosophy is what draws you, go for Pithos Rosso and taste the difference clay makes. And for a bright, chillable red to drink by the sea on a hot day, the pure Frappato is the easy, joyful yes.
Common questions
Reviving Cerasuolo di Vittoria — Sicily's only DOCG — and doing it with amphorae and minimal-intervention winemaking. Founded in 1980 by three young friends (the name comes from their surnames: Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti and Cirino Strano), COS put the forgotten southeast of Sicily back on the map and became one of the standard-bearers of the natural-wine movement in Italy.
Sicily's only DOCG wine, from the island's southeast around the town of Vittoria. It's a blend of Nero d'Avola (for structure and dark fruit) and Frappato (for perfume and lift) — bright, red-fruited, savoury and eminently drinkable. Don't confuse it with Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo, a rosé from the mainland; same word, different world.
COS ferments and ages part of its production in large terracotta amphorae buried or standing in the cellar, an ancient method that lets the wine breathe gently without the flavour of oak. The estate's Pithos wines (from the Greek word for a storage jar) are made this way — purer, more mineral, closer to the fruit.
Yes — the estate near Vittoria receives visitors and offers tastings, and it's a rewarding, un-touristy alternative to the busy Etna trail on Sicily's other side. Book ahead and confirm current visit options directly with the estate.
Glossary
- Frappato
- A pale, perfumed, low-tannin Sicilian red grape, all wild strawberry and violets, best served slightly cool. It's the aromatic half of Cerasuolo di Vittoria and shines solo in COS's varietal bottling.
- Cerasuolo di Vittoria
- Sicily's only DOCG, from the southeastern corner near Vittoria — a Nero d'Avola and Frappato blend. The 'Classico' zone marks the historic heart. Not to be confused with Abruzzo's Cerasuolo rosé.
- Pithos
- Greek for a large terracotta storage jar. COS uses amphorae to ferment and age its Pithos wines, an ancient technique that adds texture and breathability without oak flavour.