Just so you don’t get the wrong idea, we didn’t drink and drive, and when we did, we always had a designated driver.
But we always, always, had food with our wine. Unless we were tasting. Then we had little food stuff around. And it always wasn’t wine. There was lots of coffee, but more about that at the end of this post.
It was harvest time in Sicily, so there was a lot of activity. With that in mind, we were able to unearth the scared and the profane, the common and the rare. Nothing was off limits; there was no agenda, no dogma to follow. Sicily doesn’t care about all the little games we play in America to bring balance to our life. Their life is pretty darn good, all things considered. And wine is a huge part of the life.
Please enjoy this short eno-log, my version of the slide show, with brief comments from time to time.
Sparkling and frizzante
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| Etna |
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| Secret agent wine |
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| Classic |
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| The new fizzy headed kid - watch out, Prosecco! |
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| Vino Sfuso in Piazza Armerina |
Whites
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| Etna Bianco from Planeta |
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| On a hot day in central Sicily, this wine saved us |
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| do we really need words with this wine? |
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| last night in Sicily, by the water with a platter of fresh fish |
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| The "Big White" wine - not for everyone, but really well made |
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| Why wait to bottle the stuff? |
Reds
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| Jeff Siegel country |
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| Cult loving red |
Etna
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| "Genuine" wine demo at Segesta Temple |
More Reds...
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| Big Red and, yes, I like it! |
Old Red Wines
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| The Grand-daddy of all reds on the island |
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| the oldest known wine at Tenuta La Lumia ('60's or 70's) |
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| 1973 Nero d'Avola at La Lumia |
Stickies
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| Remember the name "Zucco" - another story coming later |
Caffe'
When I got back home I was in the mood for an espresso. I went into a Whole Foods. The place was busy, I figured the machine was being worked a lot and would make a good coffee. I asked for a small espresso. The following conversation ensued:
Barista 1: “Do you want a single or a double?”
Me: “I’d like a small espresso, the smallest you can make.”
Barista 1: “Do you want a single or a double?”
Me: << crickets>>
Barista 1: “My associate will help you.”
Barista 2: “I’m sorry I don’t have a lemon peel.”
Me: “That’s OK; we really don’t use lemon peel anymore in Italy since we have been able to assure the water supply is safe.”
Barista 2 : << crickets>>
Me: “What I am saying is that the lemon peel is really an American projection, it’s not really part of coffee service in Italy anymore.”
Barista 2: “Well, I like it.”
Me: “I do too, especially when I eat a tuna fish sandwich and need the lemon oil from the rind to get the smell of fish off of my hands.”
Needless to say, I won’t be going back to that Whole Foods for any kind of coffee while misinformed baristas run the show.
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| A proper espresso in Sicily |
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written and photographed by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy
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