Arianna Occhipinti

Vittoria, Sicily — natural-wine pioneer, founded 2004

Vittoria, Sicily · Founded 2004 · Arianna Occhipinti, vintner

In 2004, Arianna Occhipinti was 22 years old, fresh out of an enology degree at the University of Milan, and her uncle Giambattista — one of the three founders of COS, the Vittoria estate that revived ancient amphora winemaking — had just handed her one hectare of vines. She founded her label that year. By 2009 the estate was certified biodynamic. By 2014 she was one of the most-talked-about natural-wine producers in the world.

Vittoria sits in the southeastern corner of Sicily, at the foot of the Iblei mountains, on the rare red soils that grow Frappato and Nero d’Avola for the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG — Sicily’s only DOCG appellation. Occhipinti farms across roughly 25 hectares now, from the Bombolieri vineyard at altitude down to the lower Fossa di Lupo plains. Indigenous-yeast fermentation. No filtration. No fining. No added sulfur on most cuvées.

The Vittoria School

The Occhipinti name connects two Sicilian traditions. Her uncle Giambattista Cilia is one of the founding partners of COS, the Vittoria producer that began making wine in 1980 as twenty-year-old enology students. Arianna grew up watching that estate work amphora and natural winemaking before either was fashionable. She founded her own label as a deliberate next step — proof that natural wine could be a primary practice, not a sideline. She is one of the most influential women in the natural-wine world, regularly cited alongside the global names of the movement.

Why Occhipinti Matters

The lineup ladders from SP68 Rosso (Frappato + Nero d’Avola, served lightly chilled in summer) through Il Frappato (single-varietal pure Sicilian red) to the Grotte Alte Cerasuolo di Vittoria Riserva — single-vineyard high-altitude Bombolieri, aged in big botti for nearly two years before bottling. The Siccagno Nero d’Avola is the dry-farmed bottling that gives the grape the structure most don’t believe it can carry. US allocations are tight; her wines move quickly through specialist retailers and rarely sit on Wine.com shelves for long. When you find one in stock, that’s the bottle you take home.

Shop the Producer

Explore Occhipinti

Frappato & Nero d’Avola

SP68 Rosso (current vintage)

Vittoria, Sicily

Her flagship everyday red — Frappato and Nero d’Avola from the Vittoria plains. Indigenous yeasts, unfiltered, lightly chilled in summer. US allocations tight — Wine-Searcher routes to current-stock retailers.

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