My First Few Days in Sicily

I arrived in Sicily after an overnight trip to Munich and then a connection to the Eastern Sicilian town of Catania. After a leisurely, yet delicious dinner that night, I woke the following morning with a brief 90 minutes to explore the city.

The Cattedrale di Sant’Agata

Not far from the Cattedrale was a fabulous fish and fruit market.

As well as several street butchers chopping away.

After a bit of wandering, I stumbled upon the San Nicolò Benedictine monastery where I snuck into the inner courtyard.

We loaded up the van and headed toward Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world and to the Monaci Delle Terri Nere Resort. There, we had a quick cooking lesson with the resort’s head chef, the young and wonderfully quaffed Bleri Dervishi. We made two different pastas: first, a thin spaghetti and then ravioli.

Mine is the most appealing.

Bleri arranging the ravioli, filled with ricotta cheese.

My pasta all grown up.

After lunch, we had a little down time to explore the estate before heading off.

Chillin’ by the pool.

Next, we travelled about an hour away to Firriato’s Etna resort, Cavenera Etnea, for the night. The following day, we explored the vineyard before sitting down to taste a few of the winery’s extensive offerings.

Mount Etna.

Exploring Firriato’s Etna estate with Federico Lombardo di Monte Iato (and Meg Maker).

Firriato tasting before lunch.

After lunch, we regrettably left the friendly Firriato Cavenera Etnea Estate and headed just a few kilometers away to PietraDolce for a quick tour and tasting.

Tasting in the 200-year-old vineyard with PietraDolce’s agronomist, Giuseppe Parlavecchio (center). Those along for the ride (from left to right): Me, Michelle Williams, Giuseppe, Laura Burgess, Meg Maker.

One of my favorite wines of the trip thus far.

After the tasting, we headed to Don Venerando, PietraDolce’s estate in the Botanical Garden just outside of Catania.

Next, it was on to Pietra Dolce’s Don Venerando Estate where we had dinner and spent the night.

Don Venerando is practically in the shadow of Mount Etna.

More to come….

About the drunken cyclist

I have been an occasional cycling tour guide in Europe for the past 20 years, visiting most of the wine regions of France. Through this "job" I developed a love for wine and the stories that often accompany the pulling of a cork. I live in Houston with my lovely wife and two wonderful sons.

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