Day 21 – Sicily: Mount Etna Wine Tour & the Greek Theatre

Our alarms went off at 8:15am and we got ready for our last full day in Taormina. Today we were going to the Northeast side of Mount Etna, the active volcano in Sicily, for a wine tour. We walked to Licchio’s, a caffe I found that had omelettes and coffee. We needed a hearty breakfast today since we were going to 3 wineries. 

I booked this tour through Prestelli Sicily Tours because they provided all of the transportation and it included 3 wineries plus lunch, where most of the other tours I found only included 2 wineries and apertivos. Our guide Corrado picked us up at 10:30am and it was a 30 minute drive to Mount Etna. 

The first winery we went to was La Gelsomina. We tried 3 different wines: 

1. Etna Bianco – made from Caricatt & Catarrato, two important grapes of Sicily that are able to be aged longer than other wines. It was very dry, had a strong acidity and freshness. 
2. Nissim – a refreshing white wine made from the Grillo grape (my favorite)
3. Mazal – a red Sicilian wine made from 100% frappato grape (Stelis favorite)

While on the tour we met 3 couples from Canada who had also booked their own small group tour through Prestelli Tours, but had a separate guide. We quickly became friends with them and at the end of the first winery our guides told us we’d be going to the other 2 wineries together. One of the couples starting chatting with Stelios and once they learned he was Greek they told him we should visit Kitsalano Canada, the Greek neighborhood where they lived for many years. 

After enjoying the wine the Sommelier took us out to see the vineyard. She explained that everything in their winery was done by hand and that 2024 was a very good year for Sicialian wine. I asked her when they would start selling the 2024 bottles and she said not until 2028 or 2029 – we’ll have to keep an eye out for wine from back home since that’s our wedding year or return one day to get some of the local bottles. 

The second winery we visited was called Lizzio and it was run by two brothers – Antonio and Dino, who had very different personalities and characteristics. The first brother, Dino, was very soft spoken and greeted us when we initially arrived explaining the wine process at their winery and that they were very small producers of wine – only 400-600 bottles of a certain type of wine was made at a time, which is why they had so many different labels. They also use an old school method of storing their Kyathos wines in terracotta barrels which I found very interesting and couldn’t wait to try, but they weren’t included in the standard tasting menu so we asked Antonio if we could buy 2 glasses to try. Their other wines are aged in cherry oak barrels. He also pointed out the black rocks on the roof of some of the overhangs of the winery and explained that it was volcanic ash from the last Mount Etna eruption in August. How wild! It was almost like a thin blanket of black snow that covered the roof. 

The wines that were aged in the clay terracotta barrels were very good but my favorite was the white wine made from Nero Mascalese (a red grape). That seems to be a trend of our trip, that Stelios and I both like the red grapes used for white wine better. Along with our wine tasting we would be served a delicious homemade Italian lunch cooked by Dino’s wife. It was one of the best meals we had in Sicily so far, and the best pasta alla Norma we’ve had the whole trip. This pasta alla Norma was prepared differently and wrapped inside of the eggplant – it literally melted in our mouths. After lunch we thanked the brothers and went on to our final winery. 

The last winery was a 20 minute drive to a farm house type vineyard called Neri. I was so full from lunch but of course they had a cheese and charcuterie board so I had a small bite of the cheeses. They also had a dish called Zzu Zzu (sugar pork) which I tried but I was not a fan. The rosé at Neri was probably the best rosé I’ve ever had and Stelios enjoyed it also. We wanted to buy a bottle, but they were completely out of stock and the only rosés left were for the wine tastings. Clearly it’s a popular choice and for good reason. 

Overall the second winery was our favorite and I thought the wine tour was fun and we tried a lot of nice Sicilian wines, but the wine tours we did in Mallorca and Greece were better. By the end of the wine tour my head was buzzing and I was tired and ready for a nap, but my husband was set on seeing the Greek Theatre of Taormina before we left Taormina (it closed at 5pm and we’d be leaving before it opened tomorrow morning). Our driver kindly dropped us off at the entrance, however we did not anticipate the massive line on a late Sunday afternoon. Luckily the line moved fairly quickly – it cost 12€ each to enter and we were inside within 20 minutes. 

Travel tip: I always recommend buying tickets online ahead of time for tourist attractions/sites abroad. It usually saves you time and money, and there is often a separate and much faster line to get inside for online tickets. (In hindsight we could have bought the tickets on our way back from the wine tour but we weren’t thinking). 

In the end I’m glad we made it to the Greek theatre because it was very impressive and they still use it for outdoor concerts today. I couldn’t believe this was built in the 3rd century BC! Throughout history the purpose of the theatre changed from a stage for people to watch plays, to a gladiator arena during Roman times. It was estimated that the theatre held up to 10,000 spectators, but today for concerts the capacity is 4500. 

After our tour of the theatre it was finally nap time. I passed out and took a much needed 2 hour pisolino (nap in Italian). By 7pm we were ready to set back out on the town. I had my eye on a Louis Vuitton belt that I put on hold from the day before so we walked to LV and met up with Giorgia, the sales associate who helped us yesterday. She took us upstairs, gave us some champagne, I purchased the belt, and she gave us the VAT tax paperwork so I could get an additional refund at the airport. While luxury goods are expensive, they are cheaper if you buy them abroad, plus you receive additional money back if you do the VAT Tax Refund at the airport. 

After shopping we walked to Osteria Santa Dominica for dinner. We had a 9pm reservation and got the corner outdoor table. We ordered some wine, the red mullet appetizer and tuna tartare, Stelios had the lobster risotto, and I had the Porgy pie. Both of the appetizers were our favorite. It was late and we were getting tired but as the night went on, the service got extremely slow and was lacking even for European standards. Apparently there was a private party downstairs so I think the staff was either swamped or forgot about the 3 tables that were sat outside. Eventually we got the check and decided to call it a night. Tomorrow we’d be getting up early for our travel day and driving to Ortigia.