Pssst! Wanna hear a secret?
View of Castello Solicchiata with surrounding vineyards
One of the most historic and magnificent wineries on Mount Etna and in all of Sicily is older than Italy itself.
Launched in the mid 19th century by the Baron Felice Spitaleri (whose family settled here after the Crusades), the Castello Solicchiata was modeled after the grand chateaux of Bordeaux with French grapes and winemaking methods. The baron even built a champagnerie and a distillery to make “Etna Champagne” and “Etna Cognac” that won medals along with the wines in Belle Epoque wine fairs.
So. Why have you never heard of it?
After the phylloxera blight ravaged the vineyards, the Spitaleri left the property to abandon in 1907 for exactly 100 years until the Baron Arnaldo Spitaleri meticulously restored the Arabo-Norman style winery and vineyards.
Spitaleri is a very private man. I met him more than five years ago at Vinitaly in Verona and have been asking to visit the Castello ever since.
That would be impossible, the baron replied. He was not set up for journalists and visitors, and there were a million more reasons.
Marketing, in other words, is not his thing.
Baron Arnaldo Spitaleri (left) with Alessio Planeta inside the Castello Solicchiata's bottle aging cellar
Finally, last month the baron relented, allowing me to visit his ultra-cared-for beyond-organic vineyards and giving me a glimpse inside the winery, which is one of the most architecturally stunning I’ve ever seen.
The wines themselves are antique feeling with flavors from another time.
My latest Robert Camuto Meets… is essential reading for fans of Etna, Sicily and Italian wine. Read it at winespectator.com