Culinary & Wine Tours> Italy> The Wines of Sicily

Italy: The Wines of Sicily
Sicily, Italy - 5 nights

Over the millennia, Sicily has attracted Phoenician seafarers, Carthaginian settlers, Roman troops, Arab and Norman conquerors, Spanish conquistadors, and British merchants of Marsala -- and most recently, wine lovers. Come see why this ancient land is now Italy's hottest new wine zone. Also visit Greek temples and Byzantine cathedrals, lunch at an olive oil producer, see sea salt's creation, and feast on Sicily's multicultural cuisine.

Highlights:

• Wine estates: Planeta, Donnafugata, Ceuso, de Bartoli, Cusumano & more
• Greek temple at Segesta
• Sea-salt in the making
• Meals at an olive oil farm and 4 wineries
• Byzantine mosaics in Palermo & Monreale

Meet: Palermo city center
Depart: Palermo airport

*It is necessary to arrive in Italy the day before the tour begins, in order to meet the morning shuttle.

Day One - Welcome to Palermo

Glittering Byzantine mosaics, ornate Baroque churches, domed Arab mosques, and grandiose Norman cathedrals stand shoulder-to-shoulder in Palermo, once the richest city in the Mediterranean. We'll start the day with a walking tour of Palermo. One highlight is the Palatine Chapel, a 12th C. basilica decorated floor-to-ceiling with Byzantine mosaics. After lunch and time on your own to roam the city, we'll have an Introduction to Sicilian wine at an enoteca, or wine bar, a short walk from our centrally-located hotel. Dinner introduces the multicultural cuisine of Sicily, which includes couscous, seafood, exotic fruits, and marzipan pastries.

Day Two - The new conquerors

In 1166 the Norman king William II commissioned the Cathedral of Monreale to stand on the spot where the Virgin allegedly appeared and revealed where his father had buried a treasure. Covered with mosaics, gold leaf, and stone intarsia, it's an awesome sight, which we'll visit en route to Planeta. More than any new winery, Planeta has put Sicily on the map. After gaining recognition for their intense Chardonnay and Merlot, they subsequently introduced wine-lovers to Sicily's indigenous grapes: succulent Nero d'Avola, bright berry Cerasuolo, and fragrant Fiano. We'll have lunch at their Ulmo vineyard, located in a gorgeous valley near Sambuca, then continue to an even newer producer, Alessandro di Camporeale. Antonino Alessandro will personally escort us through the family's boutique winery and pour their syrah, a symphony of dark berries and spice. Dinner is on your own in Palermo, where you'll encounter more of Sicily's seafood-based cuisine, such as pasta with swordfish, tomato, and mint; or couscous with sardines, fennel, and raisins - always an exotic medley of flavors.

Day Three - Alcamo's boutique winemakers

Today we'll head to the wine region of Alcamo, catching view of Sicily's mountainous terrain, prickly pear, giant eucalyptus, and vast vineyards. Our first stop is Cusumano, an award-winning, family-owned winery with vineyards scattered across the island. Our tasting here will give us a panorama of wines and terroir from shore to shore. For our second tasting, we'll visit Ceuso, a boutique vineyard started as a labor of love by three brothers: a farmer, an enologist, and an agronomist. In short order, their oak-aged blends of Nero d'Avola, Merlot, and Cabernet received acclaim and justified their leap of faith. Here our escort is Giuseppe Melia, who will show us around the baglio they're renovating and give a first-person perspective on their breakthrough. Dinner will be in a countryside agriturismo, where roasted lamb will complement Sicilian red wines.

Day Four - It's all Greek to me!

Transferring from Palermo to Marsala, we'll visit Segesta, one of Sicily's most perfectly preserved Greek Doric temples and amphitheater. Lunch follows at a boutique olive oil estate, where the different types of olives are pressed separately for diverse oils. We'll then continue to Sicily's western coast and the port town of Marsala, where we'll settle into our hotel near the sea. Our afternoon wine tasting is in Marsala at Donnafugata, a top estate and also a setting in the novel Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). Here we'll sample native Sicilian grapes like Nero d'Avola and Ansonica, and see how finely Cabernet and Merlot behave in this Mediterranean climate. Dinner is at another up-and-coming wine estate, Baglio Hopps. After a tasting, we'll dine inside their baglio, or 18th century plantation house.

Day Five - The port town of Marsala

In 1773, John Woodhouse docked in the port town of Marsala and found the local sweet wine to his liking. He immediately sent a shipload back to his native England, and soon Marsala was the most famous wine of Italy. We'll spend the morning in the old city center and visit the bustling outdoor market. It's then on to the picturesque saline, or sea-salt ponds. Here sea salt is made using an ageless technique involving windmills, diked evaporation pools, and a steady sea breeze. A chartered boat will take us past the windmills as well as the Isle of Mozia, a Phoenician settlement. At dinnertime we're in for a special treat: breaking bread with the deBartoli family. Marco deBartoli has done more than anyone to resurrect the reputation and quality of marsala wine. Over dinner at the winemaker's estate we'll taste the full portfolio, including the nutlike 10-year-old Vecchio Samperi and sweet passito wine from the windswept island of Pantelleria.

Day Six - Buon viaggio!

A shuttle to the Palermo airport and assistance with your travel plans.