SICILY

while it is soft to the palate with a pleasingly
sharp touch. It has a dry, warm, fresh and
balanced flavour and an alcohol level no
lower than 11°.
As a table wine, Alcamo Bianco goes
perfectly with a cuisine based on fish:
spaghetti with sea urchins, risotto alla
marinara, baked or grilled oily and lake
fish, mixed fries of squid and shrimps with
couscous. The typical dishes from the
cuisine of Trapani are its ideal match, but
it also weds with a range from vegetable
soups to omelettes and fresh sheep’s-milk
cheeses. As usual with white wines, it is
best served chilled, at a temperature from
12° to 14°, in a flared wineglass in order
From “minni”
to “melone purceddu”
Alcamo is the city of Sicilian wine, but
alongside its whites, reds and rosés
the city can also boast an interesting
production of extra-virgin olive oil and of
melone purceddu, a variety of melon with
green, wrinkled skin and of oval shape,
the chief feature of which is the ease with
which it can be conserved. Also famous
100% Made in Sicily
Alcamo DOC includes numerous types
of white wines produced from traditional
(such as Catarratto, Inzolia and Grillo)
or international grapes (Chardonnay, Müller
Thurgau o Sauvignon).
to enable maximum concentration of the
aromas. It should be drunk when young,
within a year of the harvest.
The importance of Alcamo in the island’s
vine-growing and wine production can also
be seen from the fact that the mediaeval
castle of the Counts of Modica is the
seat of the Regional Wine-Cellar and
Wine Museum of Western Sicily. It acts
to encourage tourism and to regulate
wine-growing. The museum has a multimedia
itinerary with television screens,
interactive positions, films and virtual
reconstructions. And then back to real life
and an opportunity to sample Alcamo DOC
production in the wine bar.
is its sweet production, including minni di
virgini, breast-shaped pastries filled with
blancmange. And when you sit down to eat
it’s worth trying pasta with sardines, pasta
with tomato sauce garnished with slices
of aubergine and basil, sausage
“cu li cavuliceddi” (Mediterranean cabbage)
and caponata (aubergine salad).
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