SICILY

of kitchen garden produce – agriculture
at the service of cuisine.
The rooms, equipped with bathroom,
TV and air conditioning, overlook the
sea. Some have a view of Taormina,
others admire the majesty of Etna.
Castello di San Marco
Via San Marco 40
Calatabiano (CT)
www.castellosanmarco.it
A princely late-18 th century baroque
dwelling. Located on the Ionian Sea,
a few kilometres from Taormina.
The meeting-rooms, pergolas and
the wine-press, now an original wine
lounge, are finely decorated in Sicilian
baroque style.
Distilleria f.lli Russo
Via Duccio Galimberti 70,
Santa Venerina (CT)
www.russo.it
Since 1870 has produced spirits,
typical local liquors and
home-produced rosoli (rose-petal
liquors), using biological raw materials
where possible.
La Dispensa Dell'Etna
Piazza S. Antonio 2,
Castiglione di Sicilia (CT)
Wine-cellar, restaurant and
producer/seller of traditional delicacies
(cheeses, delicatessen, conserves,
liquors and citrus-fruit creams).
Refuge and savour the volcano’s wine while
standing beside its craters. If you take the
Zafferana Etnea road back down from the
Sapienza Refuge towards Linguaglossa, you
will find numerous wine cellars with their
extraordinary vineyards.
As well as wine and gourmet products, you
will find art and history, for example at the
Castle of Castiglione di Sicilia and of Cuba,
from which you can admire the volcano
The Pistacchio
of Bronte
The Green Pistacchio
of Bronte has a production
area limited exclusively to
the Municipalities of Adrano,
Bronte, Biancavilla and
Ragalna. Almost 100% of
Italian pistacchio is cultivated
here. It is also called green
gold as a result of its
characteristic bright green
colour, associated with its
Tasting Sicily n.01/2013 17
Terroir
in all its majesty, holding sway over the
vineyards, hazel groves and bell towers of
the churches of Randazzo.
And to cap it all, the gourmand tour ends
in the land of the pistacchio, at Bronte,
where you can visit the Castello Nelson or
take snaps of the most beautiful view of
Etna, that from Maletto. Don’t forget, before
leaving, to stock up with creams, cakes,
torroni and pesto al pistacchio.
Under, The Green Pistacchio of Bronte has an area of limited production.
intense perfume and its
resinous, fatty texture.
An important economic feature
is that it is a crop with biennial
production. Pistacchio growers,
in fact, remove the fruit-bearing
buds of an entire production
so as to compel the plant to
produce in alternate years,
obtaining higher yields and a
qualitatively superior product.