Wine tasting at Mt etna

On our ETNA PEOPLE tour we hiked and had lunch at a winery. Great day!

I can't compare it to any other Etna winery, but we loved the Gambino winery. Very high-tech, surprisingly, but also very traditional in outlook. The wines were excellent, and the food was very special.

On our first full day in Sicily we took a self-drive tour around Mt. Etna. Our first stop was Emilio Sciacca where we had booked a Technical Tasting. We expected a quick three wine tasting but were provided so much more. The small tasting building has been lovingly and beautifully restored. The view of Mt. Etna from the covered outside seating is worth the trip in and of itself. Vincenzo, the kind and informative sommelier, gave us personalized attention even though he had other guests to attend to and tables set for soon arriving lunch reservations. Along with the wine, which we thoroughly enjoyed (and bought!) came a variety of delicious snacks. It was a lovely experience and set a high bar for the rest of our trip.

At the end of the day, we stopped for a tasting at Gambino as recommended by our local hosts. Gambino is a large scale winery with an equally large tasting building situated high above Taormina. The view is lovely outside but there is no view in the tasting room which is set up like a crowded restaurant. We had the wine tasting with full menu. The food was ample and the wines fine. The wines were presented at the table with a friendly but brief, and difficult to hear, description. Overall, the experience was very commercial.

Highly recommend Emilio Sciacca…but would choose a winery other Gambino next time around.

I'm sorry you had that experience at Gambino, @mmi. Very different from our experience, to say the least.