What Sicilians Drink

 

Sicilians like their coffee strong, like a properly pulled Espresso or two, each and

every morning, standing up at a bar in Palermo, Siracusa, Catania and all over the island

of Sicily. 

Italian cookbook author Daniel Bellino "Z" who has Sicilian roots in Lercara Friddi and Palermo, 

Daniel says, "In the baking Sicilian Summer heat I am prone to have about 3 Limonata a day as I

meander around Siracusa, Palermo, Ragusa, or anywhere in Sicily. Yes when I'm in Sicily any time during the blazing Sicilian SUmmer months, I need to get out of the heat and procure a refreshing Lemon Granita and a cool air conditioned cafe for 15 minutes just to cool me down. I can also grab a nice cold glass of fresh squeezed Sicilian Blood Orange Juice, or Sicilian Aranciata Soda made with

blood oranges as well."

SICILIANA ARANCIATA

di SICILIA

With lunch or dinner, I am prone to sip on some refreshing Sicilian Grillo White Wine,

perhaps a bottle from my friend Giuseppe Tasca Tasca Almerita Wine from Vallelunga,

Sicily.

Frappato di Vittoria Planeta

If the trattoria I'm having a meal at, has Frappato from my good friend

Francesca Planeta, I will ask them to chill it slightly to enjoy throughout my meal

of Caponata, followed by either Pasta con Sarde or if they make it, a nice portion

of a traditional Sicilian Timballo di Anelletti, followed by a piece of Cassata and

a glass of fine Sicilian Sweet Marsala Wine. 

Blood Orange Juice and Oranges throughout the day.

Nero d' Avola Grapes

SICILY

Nero d'Avola 'Black of Avola' in Italian) is "the most important red wine grape in Sicily" and is one of Italy's most important indigenous varieties. It is named after Avola in the far south of Sicily, and its wines are compared to New World Shirazes, with sweet tannins and plum or peppery flavours. It also contributes to Marsala Rubino blends.

"The Black Grape of Avola" appears to have been selected by growers near Avola (a small town in south east Sicily) several hundred years ago. Initially, it was confined to the southern tip of the island but more recently has spread throughout the island. 

Nero D’Avola is known for its superbly bold fruit-driven flavors that range from black cherry to prune. Nero d’Avola is one of the full-bodied wines of the world in the same boldness as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, and Syrah.

One of SICILY'S Premier Nero d'Avola's

From my good friend Antonio Rallo

Marsala, Sicily and Pantelleria

RECIPES From My SICILIAN NONNA

CAPONATA - SOUPS - PASTA

And More ...

AMAZON.com

A BRIEF HISTORY of MARSALA WINE

Marsala fortified wine was probably first popularized outside Sicily by the English trader John Woodhouse. In 1773, he landed at the port of Marsala and discovered the local wine produced in the region, which was aged in wooden casks and tasted similar to Spanish and Portuguese fortified wines then popular in England. Fortified Marsala was, and is, made using a process called in perpetuum, which is similar to the solera system used to produce Sherry in Jerez, Spain.

Woodhouse recognized that the in perpetuum process raised the alcohol level and alcoholic taste of this wine while also preserving these characteristics during long-distance sea travel. Woodhouse further believed that fortified Marsala would be popular in England. Marsala indeed proved so successful that Woodhouse returned to Sicily and, in 1796, began its mass production and commercialization. In 1806, it was Benjamin Ingham (1784–1861), arriving in Sicily from Leeds, who opened new markets for Marsala in Europe and the Americas. Founded by Benjamin Ingham and later run by Joseph Whitaker and William Ingham Whitaker of the Whitaker family. Joseph and his brother William Ingham Whitaker inherited vast vineyards and his great grandfather Ingham's banking empire. William Ingham Whitaker’s was married to Hon. Hilda Guilhermina Dundas, who was the daughter to Charles Saunders Melville Dundas, 6th Viscount Melville. William and Hilda had two children and left his fortune and estate Pylewell Park to his eldest daughter Lady Elspeth Grace Whitaker, 6th Marchioness of Northampton. Today, the current Baron Teynham, John Christopher Ingham Roper-Curzon lives in Pylewell Park with his family.

In 1833, the entrepreneur Vincenzo Florio, a Calabrese by birth and Palermitano by adoption, bought up great swathes of land between the two largest established Marsala producers and set to making his own vintage with even more exclusive range of grape.

Florio purchased Woodhouse's firm, among others, in the late nineteenth century and consolidated the Marsala wine industry. Florio and Pellegrino remain the leading producers of Marsala today.

Florio Marsala Cellars

Marco Bartoli Marsala Superiore

The Master of MARSALA

Marco Bartoli

Marco Bartoli makes the Finest Marsala Wine that money can buy.

Vecchio Samperi

Marco De Bartoli

WOODHOUSE MARSALA

The Man Who Invented MARSALA

ENGLISHMAN John Woodhouse

FLORIO

Long a Powerhouse in Marsala

"A Glass of Marsala I had after Dinner"

At La TAVERNETTA

ORTIGIA, SIRACUSA

SICILY

Harvesting Zibibbo Grapes

Zibibbo is one of the rarest grapes in the world with a triple attitude: it is a wine grape, a table grape and a raisin grape. Its extraordinary adaptability is the main reason for a long history that dates back 5.000 years.

The scientific name of Zibibbo is Muscat of Alexandria: the name itself suggests that this grape variety was cultivated in ancient Egypt, either after being imported there or indigenously developed from trade contacts between the populations of the Fertile Crescent area.

Archaeological evidence suggests that winemaking existed during the Egypt’s first dynasty (3000-2890 B.C.) and greatly developed throughout time, as this beautiful picture found in the Tomb of Kakht at Thebes demonstrates.

Zibibbo was later brought to Sicily and other colonies by the Phoenicians (in red) and the Greeks (in blue) and became one of the most interesting varieties of Western Mediterranean around the 800-700 B.C.

The legend says that the Zibibbo was the grape that easier than others survived the Arabic domination: the Sicilian Arabs had the right to grow this vine for making raisins to enrich their super tasty culinary preparations, but did not disdain to make and drink good wine.

This grape grows today not only in Sicily, but also in different European Countries as well as in South Africa, California, Australia, and South America, with over 200 synonyms registered.

The most part of the Sicilian Zibibbo is cultivated in the province of Trapani. Pantelleria, a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean, has become part of the UNESCO World Heritage for the traditional viticulture methods still used for the vines’ training.