Sicily Guide

For generations, Americans have been dependable consumers of Italian wines. From the straw-covered bottles of Chianti to the super reds of Tuscany, Italian wines have been on restaurant lists and wine shop shelves for as long as most of us can remember.
But the wines of Sicily have been missing. Indeed, for years that Mediterranean island […]

Somewhere along the line, Sicily’s signature dessert must have won an award for the unhealthiest dessert imaginable. Looking conspicuously like a clogged artery, the best cannoli here combine large amounts of cheese, sugar, eggs and … pork fat.
Crunch into a good one, however, with the flavors and textures of the crisp shell surrounding the filling […]

Hurtling through hard-core Mafia territory -’Sicily’s chief sheriff, Falcone, was blown up just there,’ our driver says, reassuringly - we’re on a dual carriageway where Italians relish ignoring traffic lights, overtaking rules and most other road laws known to man. ‘Up there is where the Godfather was hiding all along,’ he continues, pointing. This isn’t […]

I am not generally a fan of Michelin-starred restaurants.
It’s not that I have a problem with the guide per se, more that satisfying the demands of a guidebook originally designed to tell haute-bourgeoisie French motor-ists where to find Parisian-style fine dining seems to do strange things to chefs, making them complicit in a production-line […]

No, this is not the Corleone of movie fame, but the town of Corleone on the island of Sicily, in the Mediterranean Sea at the toe of Italy.
Like many regions with a long history of wine production, Sicily is experiencing a renaissance under the guidance of dynamic producers such as the Pollara family, which […]

Rich with seafood, citrus, olives, and almond sweets, the cuisine of the sun-drenched island of Sicily reflects the influence of Greeks, Norman French, Tunisians, and Italians, among others. Unlike guidebooks that sweep Sicily into an overview of Italy, this latest addition to the award-winning Eat Smart series focuses solely on the cuisine of Sicily. Eat […]

If the last fifteen years of Italian wine have been a story of ever increasing success and recognition - and this is precisely what developments on the world’s quality markets confirm - a good deal of the credit must logically be given to the unique character and personality of the country’s grapes. Which are not […]

While the wines from Northeastern Italy conjure up some good memories, Sicily and Puglia hold some exciting new wine discoveries for David Crowley. He is especially pleased to have become acquainted with the Sicilian red grape nero d’avola, and primitivo, the Italian version of the zinfandel grape I enjoy from California. While red […]

One of my favorite Sicilian reds… The wine: Planeta 2006 Cerasuolo di Vittoria, IGT Sicilia
The reason: This week’s wine is deliciously easy to like and thoroughly unlike any other wine I have tasted.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria is a distinctive wine made in south eastern Sicily, not far from those wonderful baroque towns Ragusa and Noto […]

Sicilian culture is intense, vibrant and colorful.
During my travels throughout Sicily this week, I realize that Sicilians are healthy because much of their culture revolves around healthful ingredients as well as the dinner table. Meals and snacks are combined with daily exercise such as walking or biking.
For the recipe, visit www.mcall.com

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