When you walk among the vines at a vineyard like Benanti Viticoltori with our friends at Etna Wine School on the slopes of Mount Etna, you see for yourself what those volcanic soils I mentioned yesterday produce. In this case, outstanding grapes for wine-making. But not only! The Etna region is known for its pistachios, honey, chestnuts, porcini mushrooms, olives and olive oil, sausages, apples, pears, cheeses and many other products that are produced as a result of the mineral-rich earth. Yes, the volcano can be destructive too, but the abundance that Mamma Etna provides centuries after eruptions can’t be denied.

(Where we would have been today… #stunningsicily)