Decent Sicilian Whites

Dear Munged from Monceaux

I think Sicily is much better for its reds, I hate to say this as I absolutely love Sicily, but I find most sicilian whites well made and a little too clean, nothing interesting about them, your average italian boring white in the international style.

Benanti makes a Grecanico, I think, that stood out from the lot.

Restaurant wine lists are dominated by Planeta, Donnafugata, Tasca d'Almerita, Duca di Salaparuta (I have heard good things of their Bianca di Valguarnera but not tasted it). As a result, interesting producers may be hard to find.

I would look for reds by Benanti, Nero d'Avola Contrade Labirinto by COS. The Custera by Ceuso. Nerojbleo by Gulfi.

Ian,

not from the grape you mention, but Benanti Pietramarina is a very interesting wine made from Carricante. Loved by the Press, etc.

From the same grape, Benanti also makes a white called Bianco di Caselle, which is lighter, cheaper and easier to understand.

Valle dell'Acate Zagra has also quite some personality, made from Insolia and Grillo in a very different part of the island.

All the best,

s.

santiago ha scritto:

Pietramarina is among the best italian withes, non only sicilian. Also Caricanti from Gulfi is very good. Moreover Sicily is full of oaked-californian style chardonnay. Try Planeta or Donnafugata as examples. Some good withes can be found also among dessert wines. Donnafugata BenRye should be easy to find. ...and also some good Marsala are not that bad. Luk

Luk, thank you so much for your reply. Thanks also VERY much to Santiago and Mike (not necessarily in that order). I've forwarded your replies, and I'm sure she'll find your ideas and suggestions very useful.

You know, it's exchanges like this, that made me see red when I saw that trollish nonsense from zara. I apologise to all forbeing so silly as to dignifying him/her with areply.

Don't know a lot about Sicily, but most interesting Sicilian whites I've had have been Etna Biancos made mostly from Carricante (though I don't like as much as the best Etna Rossos). I've liked Biondi,and heard good things about the Tenuta delle Terre Nere (sp?) white.

In the words of I Ching, "No blame, no regret". You simply beat me to it.

BTW, in case I haven't mentioned it already - it sure is good to have you back.

Cheers

Nils

I have to chime in her and agree with Mike. While there, we had many very interesting and mostly very affordable reds, but I had no whites that I found to be the least bit interesting. Pleasant enough for the table and inoffensive but I would not go out of my way to find them and we tried about a dozen different varieties.

If I went to Sicily, I would look for some of the wines from surrounding islands. For instance I have had the Malvasia delli Lipari

You're very generous

You did, and i was embarrassed and grateful - so I made no reply iirc. =========To Lawrence and cwd,

Thanks very much to you too.

To everyone.

I've been asked by Gill to pass on her heartfelt thanks. She's printed out your various comments and they are safely packed away in her suitcase already, so they don't get left behind in the last minute rush to finalise preparations.

She's what might be called an inexperienced by fairly enthusiastic amateur who's asked for my help on a number of occasions, and - more by luck than good judgement - I've been able to help, so she asked again. This time, you were able to save me from the embarrassement of letting her down!!

ATB Ian

I only lived in Sicily for 1 year when I was 7, and despite my Venetian origins it somehow affected me, I am very fond of this place, it is probably one of the culturally densest and most varied destination I can think of, with better Greek ruins than in modern Hellas, and tons of Arab, Schwabian, Byzantine, medieval and Roman things to see, plus some incredible natural wonders...

While on the island, I recommend seeing the towns of Enna (off the beaten path), beautiful medieval Erice, the greek temple of Segesta, the amazing byzantine church at Monreale near Palermo, byzantine Cefalù, the incredible roman villa at Piazza Armerina, the old town of Syracuse (Ortigia), the high baroque towns of Noto, and Modica, the fishing town of Aci Trezza with its breathtaking sea views, and Taormina which, despite its jetsetty reputation is truly beautiful and remarkable, and of course go as far up mount Etna as you can it is stunning. Palermo ca nbe very interesting but it is a little rough, there are even inhabited neighbourhoods that have been left untouched since WW2 bombings, that in itself is kind of interesting...

The islands are among the most naturally beautiful of the entire Mediterranean, in particular Lipari, Salina, and incredible Stromboli, do take the night boat trip and the climb to see the eruptions!

Places to avoid: Panarea, an island paradise ruined by the obnoxious yacht crowd and turned into a shopping town for moneyed Milanese and Moscovite mafiosi.

The food is excellent, you will easily make it a habit to sip on an almond granita every morning, ice cream was invented here and you can find some excellent gelaterie. In Noto, visit Caffé Sicilia, paradise if you have a sweet tooth!

thanks for this. Dave is going to Sicily on his next break, I copied this to him.

If anything, I think Mike understates Sicily's charms. My wife's parents were born in Sicily, and we try to visit every few years. I look forward to those trips more than any other.

Mike's listof attractions is pretty comprehensive (maybe over inclusive in some respects). Personally, I prefer the western part of the island. It is wilder, less traveled, incredibly beautiful, less hectic (?). But if your son has limited time he will probably be better staying in the east. That is where most of the major attractions are: Etna, Agrigento, Taormina, Siracusa, Piazza Armerina). He will be told that Agrigento is a must-see, and it is worth a visit, both for the ruins and for the medieval town above the ruins. To me, though, nothing approaches Segesta as the Greek ruin not-to-miss.

Segesta is a short drive to Erice, which is in turn just a short drive from Marsala. It is also near a nature preserve (Zingaro) which abuts a fairly grotesque (by Sicilian standards) beach resort at Lo Capo San Vito.

Of all the things Mike suggested, I would strongly urge him to visit Enna. He will get a glimpse of life in an interior hill town that most tourists miss.

As Mike also says, there really isn't much appeal in Palermo (other than the church in the suburb of Monreale). Gert out as quickly as possible.

It's a great place to visit, even for a short period. No matter how long he stays, I bet he will want to return.

P.S. Sicily also has the most beautiful women in the world, my wife included.

Got under your thin skin? Did you toss and turn these last few nights? What did Zara say to you to put your panties in such a bind?

It is probably redundant to make this warning, but just in case it isn't, one should know that zara loves sock puppets.