Enna and Giarre, Sunday, May 5, 2024
After a nice breakfast buffet at Hotel Kalura, we struck out for the very middle of the island, the town of Enna, referred to as the belvedere or omphalos of Sicily. As we followed the autostrada into the mountains, the landscapes became increasingly dramatic, with steeply pitched wheat fields rising toward craggy summits.
When we left the autostrada, the drive up a series of serpentine turns toward Enna provided increasingly spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, with villages clinging to the tops of outcroppings and steep valleys hemmed in by rugged mountains.
We had wanted to see the historical center of Enna with its splendid views toward Etna. Despite our best efforts, we found ourselves funneled into increasingly narrow streets in the old town. We finally came to a dead end in a street so narrow that I had, without exaggeration, two inches on each side of the car. We were saved by an angelic townswoman who guided me into a small cul-de-sac where I could back around, and then gave us instructions on how to solve the maze of back streets and emerge unscathed. I remained pretty cool through the whole thing, and earned applause from my passengers.
We decided, though, that we had seen enough of Enna–the Duomo was visible above us–and beat a retreat eastward toward Etna. From this point on, we always had the snowy summit of the volcano in our sights.
The rest of the drive was easy. The roads lead along the southern slopes of the volcano; we turned north near Catania with views of the eastern slopes. On the autostrada we were cheated in a manner so novel that it earned our admiration. As we pulled up in a lane to get a toll ticket, there was a young woman looking somewhat official holding our ticket. “Cinque Euro” she said with a big smile. Although I had a frisson of doubt, I handed her the five Euros and got the ticket. Of course we were being cheated, I thought as we pulled away: you pay the toll as you exit the autostrada. We wondered how this act played with Italians and not thick Americans.
We were soon at the gate to the large citrus orchard that surrounds Zash, that glorious retreat from the world. With views of Etna to the west and the nearby sea to the east, it is hard to imagine a better setting.
We had time for some serious relaxation; although it was a rather cool day, we sat by the pool and read (and wrote).
Soon, though, we were in the car and heading for the hills. We had scheduled a tasting at Benanti, the winery that had started the modern wine revolution on the mountain. The estate is in the wine village of Viagrande, on the eastern slope of the volcano. David and I had both navigated the twisting streets up the sides of the volcano with some trepidation a year ago, but practice had increased my confidence. And, importantly, I had figured out how to work Apple Car Play in the Citroen, which meant that I had directions on a nice screen instead of someone screaming “Turn now!”in my ear.
The sommelier who led the tasting did a superb job, explaining viticulture on Etna as well as Bennati’s own wines. We tasted five wines, each one paired with food (salami, cheeses, arancini, etc.). The rosé made with Nerello Mascalese was very nice (even for someone who isn’t much of a rosé fan). The Etna Bianco was delicious, even if an infant. Then came a true curiosity, a straight Nerello Cappuccio, which is normally a blending grape. it has a delightful nose; it was smooth but rather bland in the mouth (Sue loved the freshness). Then Bennati’s calling card, an excellent Etna Rosso (80% Nerello Mascalese, the rest Nerello Cappuccio). And finally a contrada wine, a 2016 Monte Serra, which tasted astonishingly fresh and young.
He led the exceptionally congenial group–an American couple from Monterey, CA, and a young Turkish couple living in Paris–into the vineyards to explore the different methods of training vines on Etna.
The trip down was as easy as the trip up, I’m glad to say. Vladimir even accused me of becoming a Sicilian driver. High compliment, indeed!
By eight PM we were hungry enough for a slice of pizza, so we headed into the nearest village, Giarre, and found a table at La Spiga, clearly the local hangout. The restaurant was full of very happy locals, the food was great, and we ran into Antonio, the bellboy from Zash, who introduced us to his wife and darling kids!