Monreale

Martorana Church - Sicily

The Regaleali Estate

Sicily

24 - 30 October 2010

Sicily is quite distinct from Italy in terms of culture, history, language, and wines. Highly individual grapes give good reds, perfumed whites and rich dessert wines. We have been bowled over by our reception from the family domaines we have visited in Sicily such as at Rapitalà, where we have a delicious home-cooked lunch at the estate. It is through the wines and such personal invitations to meet the winemakers that you will see a side to the country not normally seen by visitors, and to the best of our knowledge not seen on any other tour of Sicily.

If Sicily was a country it would rank 8th in the world in wine production. Just behind Australia, but ahead of South Africa, Chile, Germany and Portugal.These days large quantities of very reasonable wine are available made by the large Sicilian wineries, however it is not this that makes Sicily so worthwhile as a wine tour, it is the very high quality of the leading private producers and estates, which are at least as good as anywhere else in Italy. This tour takes in most of these top producers.

On arrival we drive immediately to Etna for the first of our many superb winery lunches. We drive through wild, unspoilt countryside to the centre of the island to enjoy the wines of Tasca d’Almerita, over a lunch at the Regaleali estate from the recipes of Marchesa Anna Tasca, who has written the definitive books on the cooking of Sicily. Our base, for the first two nights is Palermo, is a fascinating city. We have a little time to explore and also visit the famous Norman abbey of Monreale with its acres of awe-inspiring Byzantine mosaics.

In Marsala, we visit one of the oldest wine estates in Sicily who make an excellent Marsala Superiore. Here too we have a superb tasting-dinner at the innovative estate of Donnafugata. They make no Marsala but they do have a range of great red and white wines, plus the unctuous Moscato Passito di Pantelleri from the exotic island south of Sicily and half way to Africa. Here we stay in an attractive 4* hotel that has been built on a farm, and even has its own wines. With the fabulous view out to the Egadi Islands, the sunsets are divine.

Crossing to the south of the island, we visit the stunning remote estate of Planeta with its modern-style immaculate wines. We look forward to tasting their new range including wines from Etna and the far south of the island. For complete contrast at our next visit, Cos, we taste bio-dynamic wines including some made in traditional amphorae. We continue to the historic city of Syracuse where we spend a night. Whilst we are in the area we also visit the ruins of the Ancient Greek temples of Agrigento and the small city of Noto, a perfect baroque gem.

Our last night is spent in Siracusa, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and it certainly has a long history with an important role as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean. However we visit for the interesting mix of architecture (with Greek influences), ancient buildings and churches. The magnificent Cathedral is not to be missed here.

Sicily is not easy to penetrate on your own, and this tour is one of the best ways to discover it, meet the people, learn about its culture, history, food and wine.

Extend your wine holiday

This tour can be combined with our Gourmet Piemonte & Slow Food Festival to take in two different wine regions in Italy. Please call or email for more details on how to join both tours, flights between Milan and Palermo (Milan Airport is only a short distance from Turin).