Sicily Day 9 Planeta Estates Menfi

Today was the icing on the cake of the whole experience for Monica. What motivated our first trip to Italy last year was her desire to be there for a milestone birthday prior to meeting me. As a wine connoisseur, she wanted to be in Tuscany, and we ended up visiting a great place. This time round due to the of.f season, our pickings were slim, but thankfully so. After multiple failed attempts I found Planeta Estates. Initially I was weary since they had multiple locations in Sicily. To me this was a bit of a chain or franchise, but in reality it’s because of the regional wines they produce. We began the day with an nice breakfast with our friend Theo, who we met the night before. From here we just relaxed and lounged for a little bit as we planned to attend a wine tasting later in the day.

Around noon we decided to head to the town of Sambuca, which is where the winery was located. We walked the streets for a little while soaking in this small town. Thankfully we decided to get there early since it was in the depths of a small town. On our travels we found an amazing little bakery that made a local pastry that had a several hundred year old tradition. It was made by a local nun named Virginia, in the form a breast to represent the Virgin Mary’s nursing of Jesus. One of the oldest traditions of piety in the Church. It had a nice crust and crunch on the outside with all types of goodies like cannoli cream and fruit.

Upon getting ready to leave, we crossed another funeral and paid respects to the person, which the towns reverently do. We then hopped in the car and drove through some very remote roads of the country to the vineyard. Shortly after our arrival, our good friend Theo arrived and from here we had a phenomenal time. Theo’s wife is in the wine industry in Canada, and Theo is well educated himself. It made for a very well rounded experience with our guide who was above and beyond accommodating and kind.

After an amazing experience, Monica ordered wine to be shipped home, and it was only fitting we purchased some for the wedding, to share this unique experience in Sicily with our family back home. They were very reasonably priced here, and generous. Truly worth the initial upfront costs which I was hesitant of at first, but you get what you pay for and in the end it was still very reasonable. We had a nice, but challenging drive through the dark windy backroads, and arrived just in time for dinner.

Dinner was amazing, I did the vegetarian course meal for lent, although the over indulgence of the day was hardly noteworthy of sacrificing. They served us cassata cake which was amazing and from here we all rolled into bed for the evening.

For more pictures of the winery tour click here.

minni di virgini which is native to the area of Sambuca.