I’m looking forward to spending Day 2 of our upcoming Stunning Sicily tour with Etna Wine School! Benjamin North Spencer, the author of this must-have volume for wine lovers, will host us for a wine making lesson, tour, and tasting at one of these outstanding wineries on Etna. We’ll enjoy a rustic lunch paired with…
Tag: etna wine
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #14. Sublime Wine
With 485 wineries and 8000 grape growers across a diversity of soils and climates, it is a leader in Italy that in recent years has focused on making very high quality wines. Plan ahead and make an appointment for a tasting and vineyard tour. You may even want to stay at a winery–there are many…
Drink This Landscape Next Saturday: Order By Midnight
Drink this landscape with us next Saturday! Order by midnight tonight! Join me, Allison Scola of Experience Sicily, with author and wine expert Benjamin North Spencer of Etna Wine School for an online, synchronous wine tasting on Saturday, August 22. Benjamin will be hosting from Sicily, and I’ll be your stateside emcee. Order your Experience…
An Almost Winery Tour In Sicily
Although you currently can’t visit an Etna vineyard like these folks, Experience Sicily can “bring” the wines to you! Join me with author and wine expert Benjamin North Spencer of Etna Wine School for an online, synchronous tasting on Saturday, August 22. Benjamin will be in Sicily, and I’ll be your stateside host. Order your…
Order Your Etna Wine Box By Saturday
Join me, Allison Scola of Experience Sicily with author and wine expert Benjamin North Spencer (pictured on the right) of Etna Wine School for an online, synchronous wine tasting on Saturday, August 22. He’ll be in Sicily. I’ll be your stateside host. Order your Experience Sicily Etna Wine Box (which includes an Etna Rosso from…
The Grapes Tell Us When
The grapes are getting ready for the harvest! Almost time to make the mosto for the wine.
Time To Taste The Wine
The Feast of Saint Martin is approaching. Saint Martin is the patron saint of vintners, soldiers, the poor, wool-weavers, geese, and the country France. For vintners, November 11 marks the first tasting of the new wine, known as “novello.” Wine making is a long process that starts with the pruning and caring for the vines…
Wine Making: Old and New
The old-fashioned way (using foot stomping and a wicker wheel), on the left, and the modern way (stainless steel equipment), on the right, to macerate wine grapes.
Grape Spotting
Depending on the region of the island (Sicily has many microclimates.), the grape harvest has started. These Nerello Mascalese grapes, indigenous to Etna, are not yet ready, but the wine maker is measuring the grapes’ vitals every day to strike when the moment is right.
These Barrels Have a Nose
November 11 is La Festa di San Martino, or Saint Martin’s Day. It marks the first tasting of the new wine, also known as “novello.” September marked the grape harvest, when the grapes are picked, cleaned, and macerated (Yes, it’s true, wine makers used to stomp on them with their feet…) to make juice that…