PART 10: SICILY

For centuries, everyone has wanted a piece of Sicily, including today’s invasion of wine lovers, writes Victoria Moore

The first time I went to Sicily on my own, I ate pasta con sarde (pasta with sardines) three times inside 36 hours. This was strange, not least because sardines are very much not my favourite food. But I was beguiled by the unexpected cohesion of a set of ingredients – sardines, anchovies, raisins, wild fennel, pine nuts, pasta – that I would never normally put on a single plate. Instead of sightseeing, I walked the hot and dusty streets of Palermo, peering and sniffing at restaurants until I had identified my next one, then went back to flop on my hotel room bed and read under a fan until it was time to eat again.

Sicily is a joy for anyone who loves food – and drink. As any fan of Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano books already knows, its natural resources offer up beautiful ingredients, including sea urchins, sardines, swordfish, neonati (literally, newborns – baby fish), wild fennel, olives, almonds, citrus fruits, tomatoes and grapes.

Over the centuries, the Mediterranean island has been invaded or colonised by just about everyone. In early times, it was presided over by the ancient Greeks, Romans and then the Vandals. From the early ninth century, until being captured by the Normans in the late 11th century, Sicily was under Arab rule. Before it was united with the rest of Italy, it had Spanish and Bourbon periods. After the Second World War, it was divided into the worlds of feudal landlords and poor peasants.

Some of the cultural legacy from all

Cefalù is crowned by a fortresslike Norman cathedral, above; cannoli and cassata for sale at a street market, below; wine expert

Victoria Moore, below right; Alberto Tasca, CEO of the Regaleali Estate, whose family has owned the land for almost 200 years, above right of this can be seen in the architecture, both standing and fallen; if ruins are your thing, you will already be planning to visit Taormina, Agrigento and Siracusa. It is also apparent in the cuisine. Sicilian food mixes sweet with sour (as in caponata, or liver in sweet and sour sauce); sweet with savoury (the raisins in pasta con sarde, for example); it uses such spices as saffron; may be very humble (such as panelle, or chickpea fritters); or very elaborate (think cassata, the gigantic cake laced with marsala and decorated with candied peel).

And the wine? There is marsala, of course: the fortified wine that is made on the west coast of the island and was developed into a major industry by the British merchant John Woodhouse in the late 18th century. As for table wine, for a long time – until the Eighties – Sicily was mostly a bulk wine producer; very little of its wine was sold in bottle.

A recent quality revolution has changed that. The first red grape you are likely to encounter in Sicily is nero d’avola, which is native to the island. Generously reminiscent of mulberries, pomegranate and cranberries, it can be satin-smooth or richer and slightly chocolatey; the more refined versions are very good with fish and with aubergine dishes. Look out for Cerasuolo di Vittoria, a juicy blend of nero d’avola and frappato made e in the south-east corner of the island nd that drinks well slightly chilled. d.

For wine geeks, the place of pilgrimage in Sicily is Mount Etna. These e lavastrewn slopes have drawn those who enjoy the e challenge of extreme winemaking and the area ea has become a contemporary orary fine wine region, making aking pinot noir-like reds s from nerello mascalese and fiercely refreshing hing whites from carrirricante. Also look out for the wines from COS winery made by Giusto usto Occhipinti, and the Occhipinti wines made e by

Giusto’s niece Arianna. nna.

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