Mt Etna is definitely one of the most exciting wine destinations worldwide.
The land around Mt Etna is a large area extending from the furthest slopes of the volcano to its peak. The cultivation grapevine has always played a fundamental role in the area. It dates back to several centuries ago and over the years has typical feature of this area, being a source of income to those inhabitants who have settled at the foothills of the volcano and symbolize the strong human determination to enhance a steep and wild soil which seems to be inapt to be exploited by man. The magnificent terracing realized with stone walls is only an example. These terraces are real works of art whose extraordinariness makes them rare in the world and admired both by Italian and foreign visitors.
The peculiar environment on Mt Etna that mixes the particular climate to the nature, altitude and exposure of the soil has as result the production of special wines.

Nerello Mascalese is the most prized grape in this area. It is late-ripening (harvested in mid-October) with large clusters, large berries, thin skins and is thought to have arrived from ancient Greece, brought to Italy along the same route followed by the mythical hero Odysseus.
NerelloCappuccio is another important Etna variety and some experts believe it is genetically linked to Carignan.
White wines are made primarily from indigenous Carricante and Catarratto.
The d.o.c. wines of the area are: Etna Rosso e Rosato (Red and Rosé Etna) with no less than 80% of Nerello Mascalese and 20% of Nerello Cappuccio or Mantellato; Etna Bianco (White Etna) with a 60% minimum of Carricante and 40% of Cataratto;  Etna Bianco Superiore (Superior White Etna), produced in the territory of the municipality of Milo. The volcano hail further Sicilian and even foreign vines which seem to find in this rich soil a perfect setting for monovarietal or blended wines: Inzolia, Nero d’Avola, Grillo, Frappato, Grecanico andChardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Mondeuse, Syrah, Petit Verdot.

No other wine region in Italy is as exciting as Mt. Etna right now. In just a few years, the number of winemakers on the volcano has doubled. All the important Sicilian producers today are incomplete without an Etna component.
Together with our professional wine instructors and according to your time at disposal and your need you will visit three different quality boutique wineries located on the south-east flank OR on the north side of the volcano, meet wine makers and locals, taste their superb wines, bring some bottles at home as drinkable memento of this unique wine experience!

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• ask for the detailed program or for a customized wine experience info@isolabella.it
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L'articolo Mt Etna wine road – day trip proviene da Isolabella.it.

The incessant sequence of dominations in Sicily left in the lands of Terre Sicane, a piece of Sicily located in the ultimate wetern part of the island between the districts of Agrigento and Trapani, a rich social and cultural context and a splendor heritage made of archaeological sites and settlements and a fascinating tradition of food and wine. An extraordinary biodiversity and a gorgeous natural context characterized by a mild climate and agricultural innovations inherited by many populations in the past: for his Terre Sicane is called “The Golden Triangle” of Sicilian wine growing. Infinite waves of vineyards draw the landscape, offering to the visitor a great opportunity to discover millennial wine growing tradition of the Belice Valley. In this area vines include traditional varieties like Nero d’Avola, Catarratto and Inzolia, and also international grapes such as Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet.
With great dedication and passion this is a land where young winemakers and historical wineries have made an important contribution to the high quality of Sicilian wines all over the world. This is the case of the two wineries included in our visit in the Menfishire wine district which is part of Terre Sicane area.
Settesoli was founded in 1958 by a group of forward thinking farmers who were willing to fight the severe economic crisis which spread throughout the territory. Today Cantine Settesoli has 2,000 partners, a 6,000-hectare vineyard area (almost 5% of all Sicilian vineyards), three cellars dedicated to wine making, an annual production close to 50,000 tons of grapes, and a packing and storage plant. Settesoli is the largest Sicilian vine growing and wine making company, the largest vineyard in Europe and a well-established wine district in the province of Agrigento: 70% of the 5,000 families living in Menfi, Montevago and Santa Margherita di Belìce are involved in the activity of SettesoliSettesoli wines were  originally sourced from Sicilian grape varieties typical of the Mediterranean region, like the Grecanico, the Inzolia and the Nero d’Avola. The range  was later enriched by importing vines like the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. These new varieties were soon producing outstanding wines, allowing us to shift them over to a large scale cultivation. Mandrarossa are the top range wines by Settesoli. These wines are made  by selecting the best grapes, ripened by the intense brightness of the sun and an exceptionally mild climate. Among the many quality wines made in Sicily nowadays, the Mandrarossa wines stand out as fine examples of the winemaking art and tradition on the Island.
Cantine Barbera is represents the other side of Menfishire, a boutique winery where Marilena owner and vigneron rules according to three simple principles: organic farming, natural winemaking and environmental management. Vineyards extends very close to the sea enjoying mild winters, warm dry summers and amazing temperature ranges between night and day. At Cantine Barbera you can find the Inzolia grape, planted in the early 20’s as well as international grapes Chardonnay, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon planted about 30 years ago. Then Marilena’s choice: Perricone, Nerello, Alicante, Nero d’Avola, Grillo. Wines at Cantina Barbera reflect her personality and her thoughts.
In addition to all of these wine what you can find in Menfishire is food, great food: excellent products, from extra virgin olive oil to cheeses made with sheep’s milk, from fruits to the produce of the vegetable gardens (especially artichokes and tomatoes) to fresh caught fish.
Don’t miss this extraordinary wine and food experience while in the area. Join us!

Book this experience OR ask for a customized proposal info@isolabella.it.

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L'articolo A day in Menfishire – day trip proviene da Isolabella.it.

In a trip to the Aeolian islands around the second half of 18th century Alexander Dumas’ father, a French man of refined taste wrote: “… a bottle of Malvasia delle Lipari was brought, it was the most excellent wine I had ever tasted in my life …” the Malvasia is undoubtedly one of the most typical of the products made in the Aeolian islands, specifically on the island of Salina.
From a distance Salina looks entirely green with two rounded high mountains and a smooth coastline. More than 400 different types of plants grow here, including the cultivation of grapes, olives and capers. The mountainsides of the island are covered with ferns, poplars, chestnut trees and typical Mediterranean vegetation covered with caper bushes, prickly per cactus and a variety of orchards, olive groves and vineyards. It’s in this vineyards where the Malvasia wine is produced, a wine of such high quality and excellence to be named the “nectar of the gods, appreciated and exported all over the world. You can not visit Salina and leave without having first tasted the Malvasia, a DOP Sicilian wine made from Malvasia delle Lipari grape (95%) and Black Corinth (5%). Malvasia is golden in colour and has an intense, delicately sweet bouquet which matches perfectly with cheese, fois gras, ice-creams and desserts. There are two types of Malvasia delle Lipari DOC: passito and natural. It is a volcanic wine, thick, sugary, golden… » as the French novelist Guy de Maupassant wrote in «A Wandering Life».

We will visit two two excellent wineries, different in size and history, both of great quality.

Our first winey is named after his founder Carlo Hauner, originally a painter and designer from Brescia, he moved to the island with a passion for winemaking. He arrived in Saline back in 1963 and decided to move to the island in the ‘70s attracted by the cultivation of Malvasia a grape which local farmers harvest the second half of September and sun-dry for two weeks or so on mats making the famous Passito delle Lipari. According to the traditional method the grapes are exposed out on the trellies and taken in at the sunset. Hauner learned the local winemaking techniques and integrated them with modern standards. He put together twenty hectares of plots of lands, restoring the ancient terraces and vineyards and introduced innovations such as withering the grapes on the vine and cooling techniques during fermentation. The new winery was built during the ‘80s in the typical Aeolian style and its inauguration coincided with a rising interest towards the Malvasia among critics, journalists and media, world-wide wine enthusiasts. Today the winery is led by Carlo’s son Carlo junior with a production of about 50.000 bottles of Malvasia in its two versions naturale and passito. Labels on his wine and caper packaging are illustrated by Carlo Hauner’s paintings, inspired by the Eolian colours and architecture.

Then, we will visit the vineyards and listen to the history of a famous Sicilian noble family who made the history of wine in Sicily. Thirty years ago they bought 15 acres at Capofaro to plant Malvasia and produce the famous nectar of the gods in its sweet version as well as in its dry version.
Lunch will be a journey through the Made in Sicily products including home cooked dishes using traditional recipes from stories inherited with the goal to tell the story of the territory and of the soul of the family.

Book this experience OR ask for a customized proposal info@isolabella.it
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L'articolo A day in Salina with the Malvasia delle Lipari – day trip proviene da Isolabella.it.

Feudo Principi di Butera lies in the heart of Sicily, in the province of Caltanissetta, not so far from Agrigento (less than 90 minutes driving) in those lands who once belonged to important noble families such as the Branciforte and the Lanza who built the ancient Baglio, the fortified manor house, now completely restored with great attention and brought to life the intense ochre colour of its walls which becomes even more striking when meeting the blue and the green of the surrounding landscape. The 320 hectare estate includes over 180 hectares of vineyards offering a pretty unique terroir thanks to the warm and dry climate which optimises the development and perfect ripening of the grapes, a sea breeze which carries all its benefits to the vines and the warm, strong sunlight which is so typical of the southern areas of the island.

The vineyards of the Feudo Principi di Butera estate bask in the influence of quite particular weather conditions:  they are situated on hills with an average altitude of 250m-350m above sea level at a distance of only 10km from the sea; they are found in limestone and shell rich areas meaning the earth is white, an element which gives the grapevines the an appropriate growth balance.

The main vine is the autochthonous Nero d’Avola, recognized worldwide as a symbol of the renewed Sicilian oenological tradition. Other varieties which have found an excellent terroir in our vineyards are, among the red wines, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, whereas we can find, among the white wines, Chardonnay and Insolia, another autochthonous wine with an elegant personality.

The new wine cellar represents a union between tradition, modernism and efficiency: a careful use of primary materials integrated in the architectural and natural surroundings and conceived exclusively with the wine making process to transform grapes into wine of the highest quality, suitably resting at a constant temperature in precious Slavonian oak barrels of 30 hectolitres and highly sought after French oak barrels of 350 litres.

The entirety of the wine cellar is open to the public, from vinification to storage and bottling of these important red wines. Enjoy reading “Feudo Butera and the miracle of wine”, our first-hand experience at the winery.

This ideal wine day trip ends at one of the most important Michelin starred restaurants in Sicily, La Madia located in the small town of Licata about midway between Agrigento and Gela. A major seaport developed at the turn of the twentieth century, heavily reliant on the fishing industry, Licata served as an Allied landing, Operation HUSKY, point during the 1943 World War II invasion of Sicily.
Its patron and chef is Pino Cuttaia. After working in Michelin starred restaurants in Northern Italy for several years, he decided to return to his hometown, Licata, where he opened La Madia restaurant in 2000. Pino is happy to cook exactly the way he dreamt, giving his personal interpretation of Sicilian classics – arancini, couscous, cannoli, and more. In the kitchen a team of nine, working together with Chef Pino. Not a big brigade, yet a customized one: La Madia seats around 40 people, with a chef-to-guest ratio of 1-to-4. If you are familiar with top chefs’ cuisine, you already know about some modern techniques and textures. You won’t find liquid nitrogen and siphons here: Chef Pino loves techniques only as far as they enhance his Sicilian childhood memories. Pino Cuttaia and the character of the sole tells more about the chef and about our fabulous experience at La Madia.
Now it’s your turn. Enjoy this wine trip, join us!

Book this experience OR ask for a customized proposal info@isolabella.it or browse all our wine trips in Sicily.

L'articolo A day at Feudo Principi di Butera – day trip proviene da Isolabella.it.