Mount Etna & Ragusa with Sarah Looper

Benvenuti a Sicilia! Our journey begins with Mount Etna. Rising above Sicily’s eastern coast, its volcanic slopes giving way to vineyards and small villages built from dark lava stone. From Catania, we make our way into Etna’s wine country, where generations of growers have learned to cultivate grapes in the shadow of Europe’s tallest active volcano.

After settling into our countryside hotel, there’s time to take in the surroundings before gathering with Sarah to kick off the week together. Tonight, we come together for our first Sicilian dinner, an introduction to the island’s remarkable ingredients and the culinary influences that have shaped its kitchens for centuries.

Today, the secret to Etna’s wines lies beneath our feet. Layers of volcanic rock and ash, combined with the mountain’s changing elevations, create a patchwork of growing conditions unlike anywhere else in Sicily. We begin the day at a local wine estate, tasting four wines alongside organic olive oil produced on the property.

Afterward, we’ll trade the tasting room for the kitchen, preparing seasonal Sicilian recipes during a hands-on cooking class before sitting down to enjoy our work for lunch accompanied with local wines.

The afternoon brings us to Etna’s northern slopes, where old vines of Nerello Mascalese thrive in volcanic soils. At another acclaimed estate, we discover how individual vineyard sites and centuries of cultivation shape the wines in our glasses. 

Later in the afternoon, we return to the hotel for a little downtime before dinner together this evening.

This morning, we travel toward Nicolosi, a town on Etna’s southern flank, where olive cultivation is part of the agricultural fabric. Walking among the trees with a local producer, we’ll learn how the fruit is harvested and pressed before tasting the resulting oils, noting the peppery finish that distinguishes a freshly pressed extra-virgin olive oil.

Our next stop brings us to a lesser-known Sicilian specialty: Trunzo di Aci, a purple-stemmed kohlrabi protected by the Slow Food movement. We’ll meet the growers working to preserve this local crop, wandering through a sensory garden and historic agricultural spaces before gathering for a lunch centered on regional ingredients.

There’s time to admire Acireale’s elaborate Baroque architecture before an afternoon aperitivo at a celebrated Etna winery, where the volcanic landscape provides the backdrop. Later, dinner awaits back at our hotel.

Few places capture Sicily’s layered history quite like Syracuse. Founded by Greek settlers in the eighth century BCE, the city became one of the ancient Mediterranean’s great centers of power and culture. Today, we walk the narrow lanes of Ortigia, its historic island heart, where the Cathedral of Syracuse incorporates the columns of a fifth-century BCE Greek temple.

At Ortigia’s bustling market, vendors call out over displays of swordfish and freshly harvested produce. We’ll taste our way through local street-food specialties before continuing into the Val di Noto, a landscape of limestone hills and vineyards. Here, southeastern Sicily’s winemaking character takes center stage. At a local estate, we sample wines shaped by the region’s warm Mediterranean climate, including varieties such as Nero d’Avola. 

By evening, we arrive at our countryside hotel near Ragusa, with time to settle in before dinner.

Today begins in Ragusa Ibla, a masterpiece born from destruction. Following the devastating earthquake of 1693, much of the city was rebuilt in the elaborate Sicilian Baroque style, with carved stone balconies overlooking narrow streets and grand piazzas.

First, we wander toward the imposing Duomo di San Giorgio and through the Giardino Ibleo, where the gardens look out across the surrounding countryside. We continue with a visit to a local artisan who introduces us to the carretti siciliani, the elaborately painted wooden carts once used to transport goods across the island. Their vivid scenes of folklore and chivalric legends remain a distinctive expression of Sicilian craftsmanship.

The afternoon belongs to the Mediterranean. Along the coast near Marina di Ragusa, there’s time for a swim or a quiet stretch by the water before gathering at a stylish beach club. An aperitivo gives way to dinner as the sun settles toward the horizon.

Our final full day begins in Vittoria, where Sicily’s winemaking takes on another character. This is the home of Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the island’s only DOCG wine, the highest and most rigorous quality tier in the Italian Wine Classifications, made from Nero d’Avola and the fragrant Frappato grape. At a celebrated local winery, we meet the philosophy behind these expressive wines, shaped by a close relationship between the vineyard and its surrounding landscape.

After some time to relax at the hotel,  we continue toward Scicli. There, the day moves to the scents growing wild in the surrounding countryside. In a garden of aromatic plants, thyme and sage release their oils between the fingers while mint and citrus lend themselves to cocktails mixed from freshly gathered herbs.

As the light softens, aperitivo becomes dinner outdoors, with the garden supplying both the setting and part of the evening’s flavor.

Arrivederci Sicilia! One last breakfast in the Sicilian countryside before we make our way to Catania Airport for flights home. We leave with a new appreciation for the island’s vineyards and the people who tend them, along with memories of long lunches, generous tables and the particular pleasures of Sicilian hospitality.