I’ve put together this blog post after lots of messages asking for advice on visiting vineyards around Etna and Sicily in general, surprisingly there isn’t much information available on how to go about organising visits, so I hope this helps!
🚗 Hire a car if you want to visit more than one vineyard or visit a few during your stay. Taxis are very expensive- more expensive than even just hiring a car for one day.
🚐 There are quite a few tours companies you can find online that will take you wine tasting- I found most of them are from Taormina and they don’t actually state which vineyard they are taking you to, if you don’t mind this and happy to go for the experience this is a good option.
🌋 There are also lots of day trips you can book to Etna national park which include a vineyard visit with a lunch tasting as part of the itinerary, so this might work well if you are short on time! Have a look at Viator and Getyourguide
🗺️ If you are staying in Taormina the vineyards of Etna will be closest to you. In Siracusa- Vittoria and for Palermo – Camporeale and Menfi.
💶 Tastings vary in price ranging from €30-80 a person, I found the average was around €50-60 for a tasting which included food.
🍇 Most vineyard visits for tours and tastings will be two or three times a day at set times, you will need to go on the vineyard website and either submit an online form for them to get back to you, email them directly or a few places you can just book your visit online directly on the website. In any case I have found that they are small group tours and spaces are limited, try and figure out where you want to go at least two weeks before you want to visit to avoid disappointment because they can take a few days to get back to you as well.
🚶♀️No drop in visits allowed, I tried twice and then gave up 😂. Having gotten used to how well England is set up for vineyard visitors I did find this quite annoying.
🍝 There are a few vineyards you can book to visit for lunch or dinner (or stay at) and then try their wines this way which also requires less planning. A few recommendations – Firriato Cavanera Etnea Resort, Villa Neri, La Foresteria by Planeta, Cantina Gulfi
⛪️ If you want to spend a good few days exploring vineyards in Sicily then I would recommend staying in these villages which have lots of vineyards in the area – Linguaglossa and Piedmonte Etneo for Etna Vineyards as well as Menfi, Noto and Ragusa.
🌿Stay at a vineyard – for the all encompassing Sicilian wine retreat there are some stunning vineyards hotels you can book to stay at. Check out @laforesteria_planeta, @villaneri @dimoracottanera @firriatowinery has two hotels – one in Etna and one near Trapani, @baglio_occhipinti @locandagulfi
If you have any other questions feel free to send me a message!
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