Sicily, such a great Italian island, earth of beautiful wines
If you do not know Sicily yet, then you should plan your next holiday season in this beautiful Italian island. It was my third time last September and I keep enjoying it so much. I decided to explore their wine tourism activities with tasting wine from the Etna region. A success ! Sicilian wine tourism has really nothing to envy to our French tours.
Etna wine road : le cantine Murgo & Nicosia
Sicilian wine roads are as follows:
- Moscato di Noto and Siracusa road
- Alcamo DOC wine road
- Cerasuolo di Vittoria wine road from Baroque to Liberty
- Etna wine road
- Province of Messina wine road
- Marsala Terre d’Occidente wine road
- Castelli Nisseni wine and flavours road
- Erice DOC wine road
- Terre Sicane wine road
- Val di Mazara wine road
- Val di Noto wine road
- Malvasia di Lipari wine road
1. Cantina Murgo
La cantina (= winery) Murgo is located 500 meters above the sea level, on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna, in a privileged panoramic position. Aside from the very special and typical DOC Etna grapes Caricante, Catarratto, and Nerello Mascalese there are some original French varieties also well integrated into the 24,5 hectares terroir.
Agriturismo Tenuta San Michele
Yes you can stay overnight in the vineyards and recover from a delicious wine tasting/Sicilian food eating session. Wake up in this peaceful environment, by the outdoor pool, not a bad program sicuramente!
2. Cantina Nicosia
Sicily from 5 generations: Back in 1898 Francesco Nicosia, the great-grandfather of the current owner, decided to open his first wine shop in Trecastagni, on the eastern slope of Mount Etna. This was the golden age of Etna wines, which – even then – were renowned and esteemed across Europe for their minerality and “volcanic” personality. Towards the end of the twentieth century, however, the family came to an entrepreneurial watershed, thanks to the tenacity, courage and innovative spirit of Carmelo Nicosia, the current owner. Investing heavily in expanding and restructuring the vineyards, and building a modern winery, he helped transform the family business into one of the leading players in the renaissance of Sicilian wine in Italy and around the world.
What about Sicilian wines/grape varieties then ?
We actually all know about Nero d’Avola, or sweet Muscat and fortified Marsala. Oh no we do not…is why am writing these articles in fact, to share experiences/knowledge. So Sicily is for me paradise for wines and food, I really love it. There is so much to discover.
You might have never heard of Nerello Mascalese: it is a typical red grape variety from Etna region. It is named after the Mascali area in Catania where the grape is thought to have originated. Also Carricante & Catarratto are typical Sicilian grape varieties from Etna region (in white).
HAVE A GREAT DAY ! BUONA GIORNATA ! BONNE JOURNEE !
[…] Vins en accord ici: Bordeaux rouge Côtes de Castillon. Ou un vin de Sicile Nero d’avola ! Ou un vin des vignobles de l’Etna (comme présentés dans mon article sur les Cantine “Nicosia” et Murgo”) Read my article here: https://french-wine-love.com/2020/05/01/murgo/ […]