Sicily Guide

In spite of this season’s scarce harvest, Sicilian wine producers have reasons to cheer up. Two Sicilian wines are the best in Italy in the categories of red and sweet wines and fifteen get the Tre Bicchieri 2007 wine award. Not bad for wines that were considered only bulk wines until a few years ago!

Here is the official list of the top wines chosen by Italy’s most important wine guide “Vini d’Italia”:

Sparkling Wines: Franciacorta Collezione Esclusiva ‘99 - Cavalleri
White Wine: Collio Tocai Friulano ‘06 - Raccaro
Red Wine: Faro ‘05 - Palari
Sweet Wine: Moscato Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé ‘06 - Donnafugata
Winery of the Year: Gaja
Enologist of the Year: Mattia Vezzola
New Winery: Ca’ Orologio
Most Convenient Wine: Alto Adige Pinot Bianco Praesulis ‘06
Gumphof Winemaker of the Year: Adriano e Stefano Dezi
Most Sustainable Winemaker: Saverio Petrilli (Tenuta di Valgiano)

The 15 Sicilian Wines Awarded
Benuara ‘05 Cusumano
Cometa ‘05 Planeta
Contessa Entellina Milleunanotte ‘03 Donnafugata
Duca Enrico ‘03 Duca di Salaparuta – CVDS
Etna Bianco Sup. Pietramarina ‘02 Benanti
Etna Rosso Feudo di Mezzo Quadro delle Rose ‘04 Tenuta delle Terre Nere 
Etna Rosso Serra della Contessa ‘03 Benanti
Faro Palari ‘04 Palari
Merlot ‘04 Planeta
Montenero ‘04 Abbazia Santa Anastasia
Passito di Pantelleria Mueggen ‘04 Murana
Passopisciaro ‘04 Passopisciaro
Ribeca ‘04 Firriato
Rosso del Conte ‘03 Tasca d’Almerita
Tenuta Dorrasita Nero d’Avola’04 Foraci

These special recognitions by the Vini d’Italia guide (Gambero Rosso-Slow Food editors) began in 1999, though, for the first few years the only prize awarded was “Best Wine of the Year”. Over the years, the other categories have been added, with “Most Sustainable Winemaker” being the latest addition. This list has been published on the Slow Food web site in anticipation of the publication of the Tre Bicchieri wine awards.

Source: WineNews.it
More about Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri Wine Awards
More about Sicilian Wines

Technorati Tags [ sicilian wines | sicily | gambero rosso | slow food | tre bicchieri | vini d’Italia | faro palari | passito di pantelleria ]

I do not follow soccer (except for the World Cup and the Euro Cup), but news like this makes me happy.

A last minute winner from Fabrizio Miccoli sent AC Milan to their first defeat of the season as they crashed to a 2-1 loss away to Palermo on Wednesday.

Read more at Sportbox.tv

Technorati Tags [ Palermo | AC Milan | Sicily | Soccer ]

Carmen Consoli performed in Central Park in New York, at the Delacorte Theater, on Tuesday September 25. The concert, part of a two-week series organized by the Joe’s Pub in Central Park, also included the performances by Luciana Souza and Morley. Carmen, a talented singer originally from Catania, brought a little bit of Sicily in the heart of the Big Apple and delighted a small crowd with her lyrics.

Here is a streaming video of her singing Maria Catena at the Delacorte Theater.

Introducing the song Masino in English…

Technorati Tags [ carmen consoli | carmen consoli in central park | delacorte theater | sicily | maria catena ]

Sicily has it all: good weather, beaches, archeological sites, culture and much more. Tourism should be a natural thing. However, everybody I talked to complained a decrease of this year arrivals.

When I arrived in Catania, I must admit that the new airport looked fabulous to me. As soon as I was out, I noticed that they left the old one next to it. It is not clear what they are going to do with it. Sicily is this… putting together something beautiful and ugly continuously!

Last year, Sicily was literally sold out. Arrivals broke all records high. Not the same this year and this is why:

1- Sicily is expensive and does not represent a good value for the money spent. Why should I go to Sicily when I can go to Greece or Spain for the same price or less?
2- Sicily is the land of hospitality, but does not have any clue about customer service. I think everybody working in direct contact with the public should learn how to smile. It does not cost anything!
3- Sicily lacks infrastructures (hotels, roads, railways, etc.) and the ones it has are old and not well-kept in most cases.
4- Sorry to say this… Sicily is dirty. We can blame it on the municipalities, but it is up to us too. If somebody has to throw something like a piece of paper, they do not think twice at doing it. It all starts from little things.

Technorati Tags [ sicily | sicily tourism ]

According to Julie Besonen on the NY Daily News, Sicily is sensational…

Sicily made me fall in love with Italy all over again. Though I’d heard raves about the food, every meal - indeed, every morsel I ate - exceeded my expectations. The island’s fat, green and brown olives burst with juice. Sweet, plump oranges are sold with leaves and twigs still attached. I’ve had fish on the coastlines of four continents, but I’ve never tasted pesce spada (swordfish) or dentice (sea bream) as fresh as this, almost leaping from the sea onto my plate.

Read more at NYDailyNews.com

Technorati Tags [ sicily | sensational sicily | sicily travel ]

Finally, I got to meet Sharon from Respiri di Vita blog! I wish I had more time to meet with some other wonderful bloggers I am keeping in touch with.

 
Sharon on the left and her husband on the right.

Technorati Tags [ milazzo | milazzo beach | sicily | sicily travel ]

The mafia is a real presence in Sicily. And the British media keeps reminding us of it, as if we did not know…

[…] The Real Godfather took you to the Sicily you just don’t see as a tourist. The success of the director Benito Montorio’s film was due largely to its having a plot: the capture of the Sicilian Mafia’s capo di tutti capi, Bernardo Provenzano, after 43 years on the run from a distinctly dodgy police force. That it was beautifully shot and edited turned a gift of a subject into a treat.

Read more at the Times Online 

Technorati Tags [ sicily | mafia | sicily travel | the real godfather | benito montorio ]

After about a couple of months my parents adopted this kitten, I met him finally! His name is Ciro in honor of my sister who lives in Napoli.

isn’ he cute?

I am at the airport. Every time I leave, it is a strange feeling. I will be at “home” after eight months. Long time for some, short time for others. I guess it depends on the way you look at things. I will have a long layover in Rome before heading south, but I am thrilled at the idea of seeing my parents. They came and visited me in the spring, actually.

At the moment, my mind is listing all the things I am going to do when I arrive:

1- Saying hi to friends and relatives (they are many, you cannot even imagine!);
2- Eat lots of food that my mom is going to cook for me (now, I sound like an Italian mamma’s boy, but I think I deserve to be pampered once a year since I left home in 2000);
3- I will have granita every single morning (caffe’ con panna e brioche. I will show you the pictures – do not worry!);
4- I will go to the beach every single day (hopefully, the weather is going to be beautiful);
5- I will try to play tennis with my best friend and beat her (competition is my drive);
6- I will ride my bike on the streets of Pace del Mela;
7- I will play with my parents’ new kitten (I have not met him yet. His name is Ciro);
8- I will buy chocolate from Modica, tuna fish in olive oil, torroncini Nicotina, latte di mandorla, etc.
9- I will bring with me half a gallon of my parents’ extra virgin olive oil;
10- I will go to every single party I have already been invited to!

Busy schedule, isn’t? Maybe, it is too ambitious. Also, I need to watch my diet… every time I am back, I gain a couple of pounds!

Technorati Tags [ sicily | pace del mela | sicily travel ]

Finally, I will go on vacation. Even if for short time, I will unplug from my stressful New York life… I will keep you posted from Sicily!

© www.travelcentre.com.au

I met Enrico Forte through my blog at the beginning of this year. Enrico is a young enthusiastic Sicilian. He decided to stay in Sicily and try to build a future there. Editor of the web site www.volcanoetna, Enrico knows the Sicilian travel industry inside out. Therefore, I asked him a few questions about its status. Read the translated and edited interview below.

What do you think about the status of the Sicilian travel industry?

Currently, the Sicilian travel industry is living a transition phase. A new law (135/2001) changed the asset of numerous governmental offices (such as A.P.T.) that used to promote tourism. These offices have been substituted with new local organizations called S.L.T. Sicilian tourism professionals are confused and do not know whom to talk to now. They denounce a total lack of communication and the fact that they are left on their own for marketing initiatives to attract tourists.

To summarize, the Sicilian travel industry has the following problems: fragmentation of the tourist offer; lack of any consistent marketing strategy to promote the local territory; low knowledge and use of new technologies; no benchmark actions to set prices for the tourist offer to compete within the Mediterranean area; no entrapenaurial initiative; and little governmental support. (more…)

Maryellen, a teacher at the US Navy base in Sicily, lives in Nicolosi and started her blog SicilianOdyssey.Blogspot.com in July 2004. She agreed with answering some questions about her Sicilian experience.

Why are you in Sicily? 

I chose Sicily when I was up eligible for a transfer in my job. I teach school on the US Navy base here in Sicily. 

Why did you develop a blog about Sicily? 

When I was about to move here, I knew it would be an adventure, one that everyone would be curious about. At that time, blogging was just getting started, so I jumped on board and started with my drive down here from Heidelberg, Germany, in July of 2004. (more…)

If you ask my friend Dave, the answer is YES!!! Dave lives in New York City and recently visited Sicily for his first time. He was in Pace del Mela too. Here is what he writes about it and I suspect that many other friends will flock to Sicily after this post!

Okay. So I am back. I missed writing for a few days because once I hit the road from Taormina- (where you must see a performance in the Greek theatre. See anything. Whatever is playing. We saw RAF, a fun Italian pop star. Whatever You see will be loaded with the history of the space as these Greek columns and Mount Etna rise behind the performers.)- to Ragusa, email access became much more limited.

And before I tell you of Ragusa and the beauty of Marina di Ragusa, I must tell you of my last day in northeastern Sicily. I was invited to lunch by my friend Maria’s family in the lovely little village of Pace del Mela (”Apple of Peace” or the literal translation-Peace of the Apple-is exactly what it is). Pace del Mela lies just south of the autostrada from the port town of Milazzo. It is at the foot of a beautiful mountain range and is quite green for late August. (more…)

Fall is approaching and Sicilian red wines can be the perfect companion for a meal with friends or a dinner to impress…

There are plenty of reds, despite the fact that white-wine grapes are still Sicily’s largest plantings. Perhaps the most promising variety is the ubiquitous nero d’avola, which takes to oak aging successfully. (Still, it would be nice if you could taste the old-style Nero, which used to be aged in chestnut casks. I don’t know of any such available on the market now.) Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz/Syrah both crop up in contemporary blends and as primary varietals on new labels. Prices again ran the range from under $10 to over $50. As before, we concentrated our energies on the lower end, with a single, notable, gotta-have-a-treat-now-and-then exception, and we found lots to like around $15. As before, all wines were bought in a neighbourhood government store, with the noted exception.

Read more at Straight.com
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