Vineyards in Sicily
Experiences
Vineyards and Wine-Tasting

Taste the wine and learn about wine production on Mount Etna and the Aeolian Islands

Tailormade & Concierge

Vineyards and winemaking

Sicily’s viticulture dates to the 6th century BC although the existence of vines on the island is thought to go as far back as the Phoenicians and Elymians. On Sicily, the best-known wines come from the area around Mount Etna in the east but there are significant grape-growing regions in the west of the island too, from Marsala south-eastward to Menfi, with big names such as Florio. Throughout Sicily, and the neighbouring Aeolian Islands, a new generation of winemakers are continuing to win accolades with wines characterised by microclimates that imbue the wine with different aromatic properties.

On the Aeolian Islands, Salina and Lipari are the principal areas for wine production and wineries tend to be small and often family run. The tradition of wine production goes back many years on Salina.  At Hauner, probably the best-known winery on the island, wine production dates to the 60’s. On Lipari, Massimo Lentsch and his family produce wine that is characterised by the territory, including a white Bianco Pomice and a red Nero Ossidiana, each name evocative of the island’s famous pumice and obsidian quarries.

Wine tasting in Sicily

Wine-tasting on Mount Etna

We have close connections with several wineries on the slopes of Mount Etna where the total vine growing area extends to over 3,000 hectares.  Best known for producing wine with the Nero D’Avola grape, many of Mount Etna’s innovative winemakers are focussing on other grapes and practising biodynamic winemaking. Visiting these vineyards are an inherent part of our Escorted Tours but we can also arrange private visits and tours if you are travelling independently.

Malvasia wine

 Light and used as a natural dessert wine, golden-yellow Malvasia is produced on all seven of the Aeolian Islands although is perhaps most typical of Salina. The delicately sweet Passito della Malvasia dessert wine is made after the grapes have been sun-dried for about two weeks on bamboo mats in the sun. Once the sugar content has increased, the grapes are pressed, resulting in a sweet wine.

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