Celebrated by Pliny, loved by Caesar, this ancient wine originated in the territory of the city of Messina, in recent years has been put to good again  thanks to the patient work of small local wine-makers.

Every success deserves its own wine. In order to celebrate his reign, Caesar chose the sicilian Mamertino wine. The roots of this product - historically one of the most ancient - are firmly anchored in Milazzo, a small city in the area of Messina. During 289 a.C. the city was conquered by the Mamertini, mercenaries from Campania, whom turned the city from an agricultural centre into a piracy headquarter.

The land of Messina is pretty famous for wine growing, thanks to the mediterranean weather. The The grapes grow between 100 and 350 metres above sea level in a clayish terroir and windy but warm weather, perfect for this spefic red grape. 

Despite the terroir is particularly good for wine production not every roman emperor had the same opinion about those grapes. For example, Pliny thought that this wine was not that good so he stopped the production; for this reason, this wine was in danger of disappearing from the Sicilian scene and this also explains why we have only a few hectares of vineyard today. 

In September 2004 the Mamertino of Milazzo DOC was created. This denomination covers 31 cities in the Messina area, including 6 vine variety: four white grapes (Grillo, Inzolia and Cataratto) and two red grapes (Nocera and Nero d'Avola). 

However, the biggest change was made by local producers, like Vigna Nica, which created an association with other small producers called "Associazione Doc Mamertino (ADM). They all own a small portion of land, between 3 and 4 hectares and an avarage production of almost 100 thousand of bottles. Thanks to these little producers the Mamertino has not been forgotten and we can now enjoy it.