WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.399 The topics and opinions expressed on the following show are 2 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:04.320 solely those of the hosts and their guests, and not 3 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:07.280 those of W four WN Radio It's employees or affiliates. 4 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:10.960 We make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services, 5 00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:14.080 or products mentioned on air or on our web. No liability, 6 00:00:14.199 --> 00:00:17.079 explicit or implied shall be extended to W four WN 7 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:20.239 Radio It's employees or affiliates. Any questions or comment should 8 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:21.440 be directed to those show hosts. 9 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:42.520 Thank you for choosing W four WN Radio. 10 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:48.759 Hello, and welcome to Fearless Fabulous You. How is everybody 11 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:51.320 doing today? I am Melanie, I'm your host. I'm feeling 12 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:55.320 pretty good. I just came back from a wonderful trip. 13 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:58.240 So we're gonna have a little travel themed show today. 14 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:03.159 What some wine to wet your appetite for travel and 15 00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:08.319 good wine and food, and hopefully to cross a destination 16 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:12.400 off your travel bucket list. Yes, we're talking about Sicily. 17 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:15.359 I don't know about you, but I have always wanted 18 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:16.079 to go to Sicily. 19 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:16.599 Lucky me. 20 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:20.480 I've been four times hosted wine trips because this many 21 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:22.480 of you know. I also write about wine and host 22 00:01:22.519 --> 00:01:26.239 another show called The Connected table. Many of you may 23 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:30.480 have seen Cicily in the Red Hot or should say 24 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:37.760 White Hot series on television HBO show White Lotus, which 25 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:43.519 has several series, but season two was filmed in Sicily 26 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:48.599 at a hotel that is actually fictitious, but it's there 27 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:50.159 in the town of Taramino. 28 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:51.920 I don't know what the name of it. 29 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:55.719 Was in the show, but it was the San Domenico Palace, 30 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:59.760 which is a four seasons hotel where the show was filmed. 31 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:02.840 We're going to talk about Sicily. 32 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:05.359 We're not going to talk about White Lotus because that 33 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.240 show is fabulous, by the way. But what I will 34 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:12.400 say is the White Lotus effect has had a major 35 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:15.400 impact on tourism to Sicily. How do I know that 36 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:19.039 because we were in the area where White Lotus was 37 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:22.159 filmed for the past ten days more or less, more 38 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:27.199 or less, and people told us there that the Sicily 39 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:30.520 and this particular area which is in the northeastern part 40 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:33.240 of Sicily, which is a very very large island that 41 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:37.159 locals call it a continent, that they've seen tourism increase 42 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:40.639 two hundred percent. So what does that mean to you, Well, 43 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.199 you probably don't want to go in high travel months 44 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:46.639 like August and even September is quite busy, but if 45 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:49.360 you want to go in the beautiful shoulder seasons or 46 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.800 even in early spring, where I have been to Sicily 47 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:56.120 and I believe April or May, and it's gorgeous. And 48 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:59.000 I was just there in September just as harvest was 49 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:01.800 about to begin, so that's always special for me. It's 50 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:04.800 a great time to visit. And also if you're lucky, 51 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:09.319 airfares are lower. So we're going to talk about Sicily, 52 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:12.000 and we're specifically going to talk about the region I 53 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:14.719 most recently went to. So I've been to Sicily, as 54 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:17.919 I said, four times. I have flown into Palermo, which 55 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:22.159 is a major city to the north and fabulous, and 56 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:24.439 this time I flew into Catania, which is a port 57 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:26.199 city more in the southeast. 58 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:28.039 They are miles apart. 59 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:29.639 So I just want to tell you this is I 60 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:31.800 just cautioned a very dear friend who's going to go 61 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:34.879 visit Sicily. Don't think you can do it all in 62 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:38.520 a week. It's a very big island, as I said, 63 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:41.479 locals call it a continent, and you either drive for 64 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:43.800 hours and hours to get where you want from one 65 00:03:43.879 --> 00:03:45.719 end to the other, or you fly, which is what 66 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:49.000 I would recommend, But what I really recommend is like 67 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:53.000 with all countries, whether it's France or Spain or Italy, 68 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:56.000 unless you have the time and the patients to do 69 00:03:56.039 --> 00:03:58.360 what they call the grand tour of the entire area 70 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:00.960 and see a lot of things a little bit of time, 71 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:02.439 or a lot of things in a lot of time, 72 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:05.560 but spend very little time in each pick an area, 73 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:08.879 concentrate it and dig in and as the Italian soil 74 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:11.919 like to say, enjoy la dolcia ferniante, which is just 75 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.759 enjoy the simple life of doing nothing. Because too many 76 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:17.879 of Americans simply love to plan and plan and plan 77 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:21.240 and plan, and we're so busy planning and checking places 78 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:23.079 to see off our bucket list. Do we ever really 79 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:27.279 relax and have a good time. Probably not, right. So 80 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:29.560 I'm going to talk to you about where I was 81 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:33.000 recently in Sicily and if you visit, but more importantly, 82 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:35.120 I'm going to talk about what you can enjoy about 83 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.879 this area in your own homes, which is the wonderful, 84 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:44.680 really wonderful Etna doc wines. Okay, so, uh, picture Sicily. 85 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:46.639 I'm going to give you a little picture of Sicily. 86 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:49.000 It is Okay, where is it. It's off the toe 87 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:54.720 of Italy's big boot in the Mediterranean Sea. It's to 88 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:57.240 the south the Terranean Sea and the Ionian Sea, so 89 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:01.120 it's got three c's. Actually parts of Sicily to the 90 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:04.279 west northwest of Sis you're actually closer to Africa and 91 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:08.439 you'll see a lot of Arabic influences. To the western 92 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:10.240 part of Sicily. To the eastern part, you're going to 93 00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:16.680 see more Greek influences. It's really really interesting. We flew 94 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:20.079 to the city of Katanya. It's got a great airporg 95 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:24.920 and it was super busy. So if you're flying, be 96 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:30.800 prepared for packed planes. Take some carrot sticks or you know, 97 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.319 chopped up fresh veggies to snack on, because you will 98 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:36.160 not get any food, or you'll get really bad food 99 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:39.519 if you're flying an economy, which we did, and be 100 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:44.120 prepared for long lines. Just be patient because there will 101 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:46.079 be long lines. But once you get to Katanya and 102 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:48.879 you get outside the airport, it's quite beautiful. A lot 103 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:52.600 of people don't spend any time in Katanya, which is 104 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.560 the major way to get to the area of northeastern Sicily, 105 00:05:55.560 --> 00:05:58.720 which I'm going to discuss today. David and I spent 106 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:00.360 an entire day there. We spent an night and a 107 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:03.199 day there, and we just admired all the beautiful Baroque 108 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:06.439 architecture of the many churches. There is an incredible fish 109 00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:11.600 market where you will see the most amazing arrays of 110 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:13.839 fresh fish that will then be served to you at 111 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:15.720 that little cafe down the streets. 112 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:17.240 That's right. 113 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:20.480 A lot of great eating places, and there's a port 114 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:24.279 and parks, and we found Katania to be wonderful and 115 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:27.360 we would recommend if you're going to visit at least 116 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:29.160 take a day or a night maybe at the end 117 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:32.879 of your trip to chill and enjoy Katanya. Okay, we 118 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:36.360 rented a car. I like to be free and easy, 119 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:38.720 and we were stopping and visiting winery, so that was 120 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:43.240 my choice. But there's some very good tour organizers in 121 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:46.439 Sicily that can help you get around and visit wineries 122 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.040 with now having to do anything except to sit back 123 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:52.759 and enjoy the view, enjoy the food, and enjoy the 124 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:56.040 wine at the wine tours is one if you're really 125 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:59.360 into wine. And I have no business affiliation with any 126 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:04.160 of these. Wish I did, but I don't, So if 127 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:07.920 you're really into volcanoes I happen to be. I've traveled 128 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:11.120 to many volcanic regions. I happen to like volcanic wines. 129 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:14.439 These wines, you know, express the tearawa of their area, 130 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:17.040 which is a lot of minerality because the volcanic soul 131 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.360 has a lot of minerals in it. It's nutrient rich. 132 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:23.439 It's really fabulous. I like these wines a lot. They 133 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:25.360 have a lot of character to them. They don't like 134 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:28.560 follow on your palate like a wet sponge. They kind 135 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:30.480 of lift up your palette and they go really well 136 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:33.879 with food. And the wines around Mount Etna, which is 137 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:40.560 Europe's largest and still active volcano located where in Sicily, 138 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:45.680 produces some great wines. So just across my volcanic my 139 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:48.879 volcano bucket list, visits off my list to share with you. 140 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.920 I've been to Pompeii in Campana, which is now a 141 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:59.519 dormant volcano with a great museum to the great eruptions 142 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:02.639 that took place. Really kind of amazing. You see petrified bodies, 143 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:06.000 and the wines are great around there. I've been to Hawaii. 144 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:08.360 I've been to two volcanoes in Hawaii on the Big 145 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:12.600 Island and on Maui and now I've been to Etna. 146 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:17.720 The volcanoes in Hawaii are still active, particularly one on 147 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:20.519 the Big Island, Mount Nana. 148 00:08:20.759 --> 00:08:21.800 It's pretty active. 149 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:25.000 In fact, a few weeks before we left for Sicily, 150 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:29.079 it erupted. And when that happens, the airport is closed. 151 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:31.399 So just know that, you know, if you're planning a 152 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:33.159 trip there could be an eruption. 153 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:34.840 And think about the people who live there. 154 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:36.799 I asked them, how do you feel living in the 155 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:40.039 shadow of a volcano that is still quite active and 156 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:43.440 shows her struff because you call volcanos her because they're 157 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:45.600 part of Mother Nature, and you can see her pumping 158 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.080 out the smoke and pumping out the fumes. And they 159 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:51.720 just shrug and say, that's life. And you know, that's 160 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:54.080 why the Italians seem to be a lot happier than Americans. 161 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.399 They live in the shadow of an active volcano. It 162 00:08:56.440 --> 00:08:59.399 could explode any time, cover their properties with you know, 163 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:03.320 volcano ash bury their homes. But that's life, you know. 164 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:06.840 They live Ladulcho Ferniente. I live in the shadow of 165 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:10.159 hurricanes and New Orleans same latitude. In fact, this is interesting. 166 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:12.919 New Orleans, where I live now, has one of the 167 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:18.000 greatest and largest Sicilian American populations. Maybe that spirit of shit, 168 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:21.279 it could happen, life happens, is why New Orleans is 169 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:25.159 so much fun. Back to Sicily, Okay, they call in 170 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:31.080 Sicilian dialect mount Enna amuntan a montagna. It is a 171 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:35.159 big mountain. It is very high and what's really neat. 172 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:37.919 You can see it from the airport, Cantania airport. You 173 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:39.799 can see it driving around and it is like the 174 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:46.279 centerpiece of northwest northeastern Sicily. It's the centerpiece. To the 175 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:49.919 north where White Lotus was filmed is tay or Mina 176 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:53.360 Ta r i m Na. This is a very steep, 177 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:58.679 beautiful resort area overlooking the sea, and this is a 178 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:01.519 great place to stay if you want to enjoy the sun, 179 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:03.759 if you want to climb on ruins, if you want 180 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:06.320 to see beautiful gardens, if you want to live la 181 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:11.320 dolcea vita. That's right, that's sweet life. Because of Italian 182 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:15.360 so how to do la delca farnietna farniente the sweet 183 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:17.200 life of doing nothing, and they like to live la 184 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:22.200 delcha vita, the good life. We drove first, we went 185 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:26.360 on an organized tour that was hosted by the Consortio 186 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:31.559 of the region of Etna DOC. We want to thank 187 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:33.799 them for hosting us, because otherwise we couldn't have done 188 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:36.240 this trip. It's a consortio per la tutta la de 189 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:39.080 vini Etna DOC. What does that mean if you're not 190 00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:42.759 familiar with wine, Well, a DOC is actually a very 191 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:46.759 important designation. It's it's a PDO, a protected designation of 192 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:52.200 origin in the European Union. In Italian, it means the 193 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:56.759 nomina nazioni do orgini control lata. It is a designation 194 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:01.799 of quality, standards and guidelines that help identify and protect 195 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:06.720 wines of a specific area. So Etna DOC, which was 196 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:09.960 established in nineteen sixty eight, so in the history of 197 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:13.879 Etna very young, because wine making dates back centuries. This 198 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:17.559 is a centuries old island that was performed from the 199 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:18.720 sea by the volcano. 200 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:21.480 The DOC was only established in. 201 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:26.720 Nineteen sixty eight, and as I said, in European Union terms, 202 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:31.759 that's called PDO protected protected designation of origin in English 203 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:35.519 and established as standards and guidelines that the producers must 204 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:38.759 follow in order to be designated a DOC. At no 205 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:42.320 wine there are other wines made in Etna that may 206 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:45.440 not be DOC. It has no impact on the quality. 207 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.240 It has to do on the style and guidelines of 208 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.720 protected production. Those wines are called Terra siciliana. They may 209 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:55.759 be made with grapes that are not part of the doc. 210 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:56.559 I e. 211 00:11:56.759 --> 00:11:59.799 Reasling in Chordona or pin No noir, which we did 212 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:02.519 while we were visiting. But we're going to get into 213 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:05.240 what makes ETNA unique because we want you and I 214 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:07.480 want you to think about ordering an ETNA wine when 215 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:10.320 you go to a restaurant or asking your local retailer 216 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:12.759 to try it, because you're going to love them. Okay, 217 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:16.120 you're going to love them. These are terrific wines, are 218 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:18.600 terrific food wines, and for those if you want to 219 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.480 bring a gift to someone, they're a fun wine to discuss. 220 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:23.679 Okay. So the DOC is. 221 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:26.360 Going to include, you know, specifications of what grapes may 222 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:31.000 be used, where they can be sourced, from, locations of vineyards, 223 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:33.480 and as we learn WITHOUTNET, it even designates how high 224 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.039 the vineyards can be. They can't be above a certain 225 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:39.080 number of meters. I think it's eight hundred and fifty. 226 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:41.360 So if there's higher vineyards than that, and we saw 227 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:43.559 them and visited them, they can't be part of the 228 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:47.600 DOC doesn't impact quality, it just is the guidelines. There's 229 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:50.960 also restrictions on level of alcohol and other factors. This 230 00:12:51.159 --> 00:12:55.200 enforces the consistency of product and identity for ETNA DOC 231 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:59.960 ATNA DOC wines and their production zones. Many of these 232 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:03.799 it's interesting so end the wines have been EDNA has 233 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:06.039 been making wines for years. Families used to just make 234 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:10.159 them in these very old wineries that are called palmentos. 235 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:13.240 You'll see them dotted around the area. They're old stone 236 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:18.080 buildings that were very rustic wineries. Yes, that's where you 237 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:23.039 lily crushed grapes with your feet, and you'll see them around. 238 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:25.679 Some are still in disrepair, but many of the wineries 239 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:29.360 and hotels have taken and purchased and acquired these palmenos 240 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:33.840 and turned into some pretty amazing structures. We stayed at 241 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:38.639 a hotel called Etna Quotemile, which has a palmento converted 242 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:43.200 into a bar area. We visited Planeta, a very famous 243 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:46.320 winery that was also featured in The White Lotus and 244 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:51.240 their big hospitality tasting room at Planeta and the Sharanova 245 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:55.679 Vineyards is a former palmento. We also stayed at a 246 00:13:55.720 --> 00:14:01.519 winery Fabulous Wines also called Palmento Costanza. It is actually 247 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:05.679 still a working, modernized palmento. So Palmento is a important 248 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.080 term to know if you go visit Atna wine region 249 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:13.200 because it's the old historic wine production facilities and it's 250 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:16.639 really amazing to tour them and to see how they're 251 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:21.679 being resurrected into hospitality, tasting rooms, offices, dining rooms and 252 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:27.440 for some working wineries. Okay, so those families used to 253 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:29.960 make wines that way, and then you know, some things happened, 254 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:33.200 like World War two, which devastated Italy. Italy was really 255 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:37.279 impacted terribly by the wars and conflicts, and it became 256 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:40.840 very poor. There was also something called the mafia. Now 257 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:43.840 they've really tried to fight and chase the mafia out 258 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:47.000 of Sicily, but if you've ever seen all those Mafia movies, 259 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:50.200 you know most of them took place in Sicily. Interestingly enough, 260 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:53.639 a lot of the vineyards that were owned by mafia 261 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:57.960 were confiscated and have been taken back and brought back 262 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:02.039 to life really vendors. There's a whole program under that. 263 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:07.000 So a lot of the vineyards lay in decay and 264 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:11.480 were unused because people couldn't afford to maintain them. A 265 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:14.559 lot of young people moved away to find better economic 266 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:18.360 opportunities elsewhere. There was a huge immigration in the late 267 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:21.799 nineteenth century of Sicilians to America and to New Orleans, 268 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:24.679 which is what has shaped the great population of Sicilia 269 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:30.360 Americans in New Orleans. And today there are many wonderful restaurants, hotels, businesses, shops, 270 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:35.440 supermarkets that are owned by people of Sicilian heritage. So 271 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:39.080 it's you know, it's amazing. But what's really interesting, So, 272 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:42.000 as I mentioned that DOC was established in nineteen sixty eight, 273 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:46.559 and that kind of started to slowly usher in a 274 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:51.399 new modern era for Sicilian wines. Many were made and 275 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:53.679 you could just go up to the Palmetto and fill 276 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:57.559 your giant container and bring the wines home. But when 277 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:02.480 the winery started bottling their wine for commercial sale and 278 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:05.720 exporting their wines, things really took off. I would say 279 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:10.480 that for such an old region in many ways, including wine, 280 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:13.559 it's still a fairly new region in terms of discovering 281 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:17.279 the great producers and bottle wines of Sicily of great quality. 282 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:20.480 Because a lot of the people who came and started 283 00:16:20.919 --> 00:16:25.360 bringing back the wines and revitalizing. The vineyards really started 284 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:29.159 finding their way in the early two thousand, so like 285 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:32.080 thirty years ago, thirty five years ago, twenty years ago, 286 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:34.120 kind of young. A lot of the producers we met 287 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:36.360 they started in two thousand and wine. That seems to 288 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:39.639 be a big year. And of course, as you know, 289 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:42.159 it takes a long time for vines to come to fruition. 290 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:45.600 A lot of the vines that are in Sicily and 291 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:48.440 in Edina are what they call prefiloca, which means they 292 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:53.080 survived the philoshra light of the late nineteenth century, which 293 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:57.320 killed most of the vineyards in Europe. And why is 294 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:03.080 that Because volcanic soils are resistance to flocks up pretty 295 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:05.599 sandy soils. So that's kind of cool because these are 296 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:09.880 very old vines. They're really large, gnurly trunks and branches, 297 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:16.680 and the wines are pretty amazing. So Atna is a 298 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:19.880 very large regions that says, Sicily is a large island 299 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:22.200 slash conon and it's a very large region. And there's 300 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:28.039 four areas of Na, literally four areas where the slopes 301 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:33.759 produce vineyards that produce wine. There's the north, which is 302 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:36.279 where most of the producers are concentrated. It's known for 303 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:39.240 producing some of the Edna Dock's finest red wines, which 304 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:42.160 we're going to get into. And that's where David and I, 305 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:45.400 my husband and I kind of based ourselves for our 306 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:48.480 little mini tour after our big press tour, we went 307 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:51.680 to Etna North and specifically because this area is known 308 00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:54.559 for three things that we were interested in. One, there's 309 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:57.640 some really great hiking and beautiful parks, and we love 310 00:17:57.680 --> 00:17:59.400 to hike because it's a great way to walk off 311 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:03.519 all that you're in cheese you're eating. And Two, some 312 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:05.759 of the finest and well known producers are there. We 313 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:07.480 wanted to meet some of them. And three it's known 314 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:09.480 for its red wines, and we have but to love 315 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:14.039 both the rennow whites of at in the dock, but 316 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:17.319 these red wines are particularly unique and special and we 317 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:20.079 want to do a deep dive into them. So that's 318 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:23.880 the northern slope. It has very high elevations and in 319 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:27.640 wine terms, what they call the diural diurnal weather ship, 320 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:30.519 which is really great for creating balanced, nurtured grapes. That 321 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:36.240 means warm sunny days, cool mountain air at night really 322 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:41.160 keeps things, you know, dry. Cooling breezes really Nutrius the grapes, 323 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:43.640 and as I said, while they do grow white wines 324 00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:46.279 there and we also tasted some reaslings and charonese are 325 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:48.960 pretty awesome. It's known for its threads. And there's the 326 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:52.039 eastern slope which looks over the Ionian Sea. It's a 327 00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:56.759 bit rainier and windier, and here the atna bianci are 328 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.920 at No white wines of the dock are grown. There's 329 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:03.519 a specific little subregion near a town called Milo, which 330 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:05.799 we did not visit, and I want to because there's 331 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:08.440 a couple of dozen producers that produce something called etna 332 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:12.720 bianchi superior wines, and they're really great. It's just all 333 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:20.559 about terrowah. You know, you grow, you grow, and you're 334 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.680 a terrewah is you know, which shapes the wine from 335 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:27.279 the land up in the and the ground up, the atmosphere, 336 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:30.359 the nutrients in the soil. It's a sense of place, 337 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:32.319 and I will say that those wines had a completely 338 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:36.480 sense of place. Then to the south it's more maritime 339 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:41.759 and really more beachy beach weather, as they'd say, So 340 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:45.079 you've got sea breezes a little more humidity, and it's 341 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:48.559 known for the white wines. And then way to the west. 342 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:51.240 There's really a kind of an interesting dry area. I 343 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:54.519 saw two wineries in the southwestern slope and had some 344 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:57.640 very good reds and whites. We actually drove the entire 345 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.119 road around at Noa. We circum navigated the mountain. It 346 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:04.279 was really cool. We saw some beautiful areas. This area 347 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:06.400 is also known let's skip wine for a minute. It's 348 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.960 also known for pistachios. They're called the Bronte like the 349 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:14.319 Wuthering Heights Bronte pistachio from the town called Bronte, and 350 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:17.640 they are just the most amazing pistachios. If you go 351 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:22.240 buy them. You can also buy pistachio creme, which is 352 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:28.000 in that canolis. This area is, you know, created the canoli. 353 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:31.519 Everybody send gives you a canola cannolis with We're caught 354 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:35.000 to cheese. Were caught a cheese which I can face 355 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:40.000 plant in, or pistachio cream or nocciola nut cream. I 356 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:44.079 bought back some pisaschio basil sauce. I can't wait to 357 00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:48.799 have it on pasta. It's also known for apples and fruit. 358 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:51.160 We had some very good fruit while we were there, 359 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:53.920 and of course they have a lot of farming for 360 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:57.440 cows and pigs. If you like salumi, you're gonna love it. 361 00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:01.640 Up there in the mountain area to the south in Catania, 362 00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:04.640 it's a fish port, and we had the most incredible fish, 363 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:08.519 unbelievable fish. I'm a fish person, I'm a pescataria and 364 00:21:08.519 --> 00:21:12.759 I was in heaven. It was September, so we ate 365 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:15.799 a lot of eggplant, because I've learned that in Europe 366 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:18.200 and especially in Italy, you eat what's ever grown and 367 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:21.480 produced within like maybe thirty kilometers where you are, So 368 00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:25.480 for us, it was eggplant and cappanata. It's probably one 369 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:28.960 of the most known dishes other than in pasta ala norma, 370 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:32.920 which is an eggplant lasagna type dish. I've never made either, 371 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:34.960 but I ate a lot of it while I was 372 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:37.480 there because I don't eat meat, and so the easiest 373 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:40.359 substitute for people like me was mushrooms, which were also 374 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:43.920 in season and delicious. They were nutty and wild and eggplant. 375 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.880 So I had my fill of eggplant and mushrooms, while 376 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:49.640 David ate a lot of really good beef dishes. 377 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:55.559 So what are you drinking? This is what you know. 378 00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:58.279 I'm gonna give you the quick and easy if you 379 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:01.119 go the words to know and if you want to try, 380 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:04.440 here's what to buy. Okay, So I've already told you 381 00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:06.920 that the doc is important word to know if you're 382 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:09.640 looking for a designation on a bottle. I already told 383 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:12.400 you a little history like the palmento, which is really 384 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:14.319 just something to if you go there, you're kind of 385 00:22:14.359 --> 00:22:15.480 cool if you know what it means. 386 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:16.039 Okay. 387 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:20.279 Another term you may want to know and respect is 388 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:21.279 lava flow. 389 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:23.319 And why is that kind of amazing? 390 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:27.480 Because literally the wines are and the soils and the 391 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:31.680 vineyards are like typed by lava flow. 392 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:34.799 We'll drive We were driving and Vintnor's. 393 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:36.480 Would talk about, well, this is a liva flow from 394 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:39.960 sixteen fourteen, and you're having wine that was produced from 395 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:42.640 vines that have been growing in the lava flow of 396 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:45.680 sixteen fourteen. And then we drove and we saw the 397 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:48.720 giant lava flow of nineteen eighty one. They're all named 398 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:51.319 and documented and there are a lot of and what 399 00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:53.240 does the lava flow look like? It looks like a 400 00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:57.640 lava flow of giant blackish brownish rocks that shape and 401 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:02.400