Sicily Wine Tour Itinerary

SEVEN Days | SIX Nights

Start and FINISH: Catania | City Center TBD

(Please note: This is a sample itinerary. Each tour is unique.)

Day One: mount etna + etna wines

We'll meet at a central location in Catania, boarding our spacious and comfortable shuttle and driving off toward towering Mount Etna. Our first stop will be at a family-run winery just south of the volcano which has an old palmento, a building where Sicilians used to come together as a community to make their wine completely by hand (and foot!). We'll tour the vineyards and have a tasting over lunch on their terrace. Afterward, we will check in to our gorgeous hotel and have some free time to unpack, unwind and explore the grounds. We'll then drive to nearby Taormina, where you will have some time to explore this charming seaside town and do a little shopping before we meet another Etna wine producer for dinner at a lovely osteria serving local specialties.

Day Two: etna wines

After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we'll be taken up Mount Etna for a scenic drive with some stops to get out and walk around the volcanic terrain. Lunch will be in the town of Randazzo, the epicenter of Etna's culinary delights. We'll then drive to a very special winery, where we will be treated like family and have a walk around the vineyards and pear orchards. Afterward, we will head back to the hotel for a little rest and relaxation. Dinner will be at a small town nearby.

Day Three: syracuse + ortigia + noto

Today, we'll  heading south down the east coast with Mount Etna in our rear-view mirror. Syracuse, the famed Greek city, is our first stop. We'll wander through famous Greek ruins, including one of their largest open-air theaters ever built, before having lunch on the quaint island of Ortigia (connected to Syracuse by several short bridges). We will have a tasting of the sweet dessert wine, Moscato di Siracusa, to finish our lunch, and then there will be some free time to check out the cute shops and pretty vistas that Ortigia has to offer. Afterward, we will drive to the Baroque city of Noto, our home for the next two nights. We will stop for one of the town's famous semi-forzen dessert granita (Noto is also renowned for its almonds, so we strongly recommend the almond granita!), followed by our hotel check-in. Dinner will be at one of Noto's incredible restaurants.

Day Four: noto + olive oil producer

Spend the morning sleeping in or exploring Noto's stunning architecture. Lunch will be on your own. (We will provide you a list of our favorite restaurants.) After lunch, we will drive to the heart of Sicily's prized extra virigin oil: Monti Iblei. We'll taste the flavorful olive oil made from Monti Iblei olives as well as other products made by a tiny, award-winning azienda agricola. Our visit will include a walk through an ancient olive grove with the owners. Dinner will be at a farm-to-table restaurant in a nearby town.

Day Five: modicA chocolate producer + cerasuolo Wines

Heading west, we will reach Modica, known for its chocolate made from an ancient Aztec recipe that the Spanish brought over during their conquest of southern Italy. We will visit a respected producer to see how this famed chocolate is made followed by a gourmet lunch (Pretty obvious what dessert will be.)  Our next stop will be Vittoria, the region famous for the distinctive Cerasuolo di Vittoria, a deeply-colored and complex red wine—the first to be awarded the Italian DOCG quality title in Sicily. We will check into our country inn, hosted by an innovative winery in the area, and have some time to relax before a dinner accompanied by the estate's wines. 

Day Six: caltagirone’s ceramics + cerasuolo Wines

This morning, we will drive to Caltagirone, one of the most important ceramic production centers of Sicily and renowned in the entire Mediterranean. We will have a guided tour of the elaborate Baroque architecture decorated with hundreds of thousands ceramic tiles, followed by lunch in town. After lunch, we will visit one last Cerasuolo di Vittoria producer, a young wine-making star on the island. Back at our hotel, we'll have a couple of hours to relax and start to pack before dinner in a nearby town.

DAY SEVEN: back to Catania

With our bellies and suitcases full of wonderful Sicilian gastronomic treasures, you will be brought back to the heart of Catania for your continued island-traveling pleasure or for what will be undoubtedly an undesired departure. On a positive note, arrivederci in Italian means "until we see eachother again"! You'll be back.