Experience Sicily

Tag: wine

  • High Tech Vintage

    Once wine grapes are harvested and pressed, the juice is brought here to begin the fermentation process. Today, wine making is very high tech. The wood barrels are still important, but they come later. First, however, stainless steel, temperature controlled, light controlled, and closely monitored containers create the liquid that becomes the wine we love.…

  • Time to Taste the Wine

    The end of September marked the grape harvest and the start of the wine-making season. Once made, the grape juice is left to age for all different lengths of time, depending on the varietal. However, November 11, or Saint Martin’s Day, marks the first tasting of the new wine, also known as “novello.” In towns…

  • Stairway to Heavenly Wine

    Staircase leading up to the antique palmento at Terrazze dell’Etna vineyard on Etna.

  • Enchanting Sicily, Day 9: Ascending Etna

    LIVE from Sicily! | As we ascended Etna today to learn about and taste Etna wines, we saw chestnut trees, lava slopes, and grapes still on the vine. We tasted three or four varietals and enjoyed a long lunch of information and… delicious local sausage made from wild, black boar. Thank you @etnawineschool for a…

  • The Stakes are High

    Vines (These are special because they stand singularly apart from other vines.) photographed on the slope of Mount Etna in Randazzo. Cheers!

  • September Means Grape Harvest

    It’s September, and that means that depending on where they are, the grapes will be ready to be harvested for wine-making. Over the next few weeks, purveyors at Sicily’s finest vineyards will be working around the clock to capture the sun, earth, air, rain, and all of the flavors that have fueled the growth of…

  • Vineyard Hopping

    Vineyards around Mount Etna produce remarkable wines. Each vineyard has its own personality and approach to wine making. Many combine grapes from different parts of the island with those grown on the slopes of the volcano. The result is a bouquet of aromas and flavors that range from lemony citrus and earthy olive to nutty…

  • Back to School

    I learned so much about wine today from Etna Wine School’s Benjamin Spencer. Together we visited Vivera Winery on Etna, where the founder’s son Eugenio gave us a tour and explained their wine-making process. Eugenio was a wonderful host. Benjamin was a joy to meet… Wine is poetry! More about this fabulous day in the…

  • Vino on Etna

    I am boarding my plane to Palermo from JFK right now! On my list of things to see and do in Sicily this visit is to meet with an enologist on Mount Etna who will be leading our group on Day 9 of September’s Enchanting Sicily small-group tour at a vineyard, just like this one… …