In 2024 I ran four tours to the eastern side of Italy. Click here for the daily blog we wrote for each tour.
Each tour commenced with an early morning flight to Catania, and we enjoyed lunch at the restaurant of Hotel Faraglioni in Aci Castello, admiring the ‘faraglioni dei Ciclopi’. Then on to Siracusa, where we checked into our hotel. The rooftop bar was a congenial place for people to gather each night.
We visited three key areas in the eastern part of Sicily.
Vittoria
An hour and a half west of Siracusa is the town of Vittoria, the centre of the eponymous DOC, and the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG.
Azienda Agricola Occhipinti is an organic estate established by Arianna Occhipinti about 20 years ago. Passionate about the environment, she has built up a portfolio of vineyards among a biodiverse environment spread across the Vittoria region, of which Bombolieri (where we were) was the first. We visited the vineyards, explored the winery and enjoyed a lovely tasting, accompanied by breads and olive oil and bruscheta all made on the estate.
Tenuta Bastonaca, is another family owned estate situated right in the heart of the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG. We met owner Silvana who told us they also own vineyards in Etna and on the island of Pantelleria, where they make a dry Zibbibo.
They play classical music to their barrels (Mozart and Beethoven were the composers of choice while we visited). Lunch was a wonderful spread of local produce, and their wines of course, in the autumn we enjoyed both eating and seeing prepared the traditional dessert Mostardo di Uva. Must made from very ripe grapes (that were still hanging on the vines we had visited) is boiled down with semolina and cinnamon. in front of our very eyes! Topped with almonds it was delicious.
Etna
Our visits to Etna gave us a wonderful insight into this amazing wine region. This part of Sicily is unquestionably the most diverse thanks to the volcanic soils and myriad of soils that have been categorised into 142 contrade – effectively a geological map that defines the subtle differences in characteristics around the mountain.
Our spring tours included a day at Planeta, one of Sicily’s leading winemaking families, gave us a great introduction both to Etna and to the company history (we had also visited their winery near Sambuca on our tour to the western side of the island in 2017 and 2018). We tasted older vintages of Nerello Mascalese which was a magnificent opportunity to understand how this grape variety evolves and the impact of vintage variation. Plus a superb lunch.
At Azienda Agricola Biondi we were met Ciro Biondi, his wife Stephanie, and their two large mastif dogs (who were very gentle). They own vineyards in two of two of Etna’s Contrade, Monte San Nicolò and Ronzini, and on our walk through the vines the difference between the volcanic sandy soil of the former and the redder rocky soils of the latter was clear. A superb tasting took us through their entire range accompanied by some local cheeses and salamis, in such beautiful surroundings. We didn’t want to leave!
Terracostantino is a larger family owned estate. We walked through the vineyards to the old palmetto where we saw the ancient press with its huge screw (lubricated we learnt by the fruit of the prickly pear trees that were growing everywhere!)
and tasted their wines accompanied by a light lunch. Their wines were excellent, particularly the Rasolo Rosso – an IGT wine that blends all the varieties, white and red, grown in a single terrace. This was how Etna wines used to be made (albeit with some temperature control and attention to oxidation) and its juicy fruit, freshness and vim was a lovely pep up at the end of a super meal.
On one of our spring visits we enjoyed a ‘bonus’ visit on our way back to Catania, where we were catching a late flight home. Benanti is one of the most historic of Etna wineries. We enjoyed a welcome glass of Metodo Classico Carricante, strolled into the elegant gardens and vineyards and finished with with some excellent food and wine pairings.
Noto
To the south of Siracusa, is the tiny Noto DOC region, mainly growing Moscato and Nero d’Avola. It is famed for its sunshine, though proximity to the sea provides cooling influences.
Tenuta La Favola is a family owned estate with history going back five generations, our visit showed us the stunning views over the vineyards and took us back in time with look at the old winemaking kit the family used to use. We then sat down and enjoyed a wonderfully lunch, pairing five wines with five dishes.
At the Marabino estate, they farm organically and vines are interplanted with fruit and olive trees to encourage beneficial insects, beans and local wheat varieties are planted and ploughed in to improve soil fertility.
In the courtyard were demijohns of Moscato wine made from passito (dried) grapes, that are left outside for 12 months, during which time the wine evolves a dark colour and undergoes an oxidative evolution. We tasted this dry wine along with more conventionally made rosé, white and red wines. All the wines were remarkably fresh, with very reasonable alcohol (most no more than 12.5%)! A short drive away was Marabino’s restaurant, where we enjoyed lunch.
At Cantina Marilina we met Marilina, whose father had made wine for the likes of Planeta and when he decided to make wine for himself he selected Noto as the place to make great Nero d’Avola, though he planted other varieties too, naming many of his wines after his daughters, Marilina and Federica. This was another organic estate.
Our tastings included Moscato sparkling wine made by the ancestral method (also called pet nat), where the final stages of fermentation take place in the sealed bottle, and ended with old vintages of their white and red riserva wines, that showed how well they age.
Siracusa was a lovely place to stay. While our hotel was a short walk into the centre, we took the chance to explore. Our final night dinners were at the Regina Lucia restaurant in the spring, and the Perle d’Ortigia in the autumn, both in the heart of the Ortigia island.
