vino e sole - wine and sun....

One of our favorite places to visit when we come to Sicily is the beautiful Gambino winery.  High on the slopes of Mount Etna, the drive up the twisting, turning, narrow road is an adventure in and of itself...the villages and walls along the way are built of lava rock..amazing to see.  They all, of course, have a view of "the Etna".

  the charming town of Linguaglossa...
On the road to Gambino... terraces made of lava rock...


the cantina at Gambino

     We went on Friday in order to make a reservation for Sunday lunch...why call when you can drive there ?  We were met by our favorite sommelier, Manuela, who remembered us from previous visits and greeted us with hugs and kisses.  After making a date for Sunday, Manuela asked if we would like a taste of white wine as long as we were there..of course !  Seating us at a table overlooking the beautiful vineyards, she brought us a bottle of lovely, crisp white...a few minutes later, she arrived with a basket of bread and a large plate of various local cheeses.  A few minutes after that, she brought two bottles of red wine for our drinking pleasure...again, of course !  The bottles are always left at the table for the sometimes necessary refill...we saw Papa, and were again greeted by him in the traditional Sicilian way...hugs and kisses on both cheeks...


On Sunday, we returned for our tasting and lunch...what an afternoon ! Or should I say what a day, as we were there almost four hours !  The tasting started with a white, followed by a rose...accompanied by plates of antipasti - olives, sun dried tomatoes, cheeses, marinated mushrooms, bread...yum !  Just when you think that is all there will be (which would have been more than enough...), along comes a frittata (omelette), followed by chickpeas in a rich broth, and the best lentil soup we have ever had...oh, yum again !  The wine, of course, keeps arriving also...all in all, we tasted five reds -one more lovely than the last.  To complement the reds, we were served a plate of cold meats - speck (a smoked ham), local salami, capicola...then roasted sausages ...mama mia !  Again, all bottles are left on the table for you to drink as you like...and we liked !


just a bit of the food....

just a few of the wines !
During our "tasting", both brothers involved in the winery stopped by to chat and wish us a "Happy Anniversary Season" - a little bird must have mentioned that !  They were as kind and welcoming as ever.

We ended up, hours later with several souveniers - wine (of course !), wine glasses, a shirt for Joe, special salt from the Western coast of Sicily, a wooden wine box for our "cellar", and memories that will last a lifetime.

        the saying is "the vertical limit of wine production, where everything is extreme"...so true !


The days of wine and sun - vino e sole - are alive and well at Gambino...Manuela said " you are our guests,  but now you are part of our family".  What could be better than that ?

Salute !


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