Sicily is renowned for its beautiful landscapes, delicious cuisine, and excellent wines. Therefore. the island is home to many wineries, ranging from large-scale operations to small, family-run businesses. While some of these wineries are well-known tourist destinations, others are hidden gems waiting to be discovered by wine lovers seeking an authentic experience. Here are 10 secret wineries in Sicily that are worth a visit.

Cantine Barbera

This family-run winery is located in the western part of the island, in Menfi. Visitors can enjoy a tour of the vineyards and cellars, followed by a tasting of their award-winning wines, including their signature Marsala. «Making wine for me is a lifestyle choice. Back in Sicily after years spent elsewhere that didn’t belong to me, I found my father’s vineyard and dream. I took this dream and found out it was mine too. Living in Menfi, feeling the energy of this beautiful and difficult land, trying to understand its essence and interpret it through the fruits it gives us every day. Being a witness and guardian, preserving its integrity, absorbing its strength and richness, trying to transfer its soul to the wine. Without tricks.» Therefore, you can live a unique experience thanks to Marilena. CONTACT: https://www.cantinebarbera.it/it/ ADDRESS: SP79, 92013 Menfi AGRIGENTO

Baglio Oro

This small and quite young winery was born from the tenacity of «Don Pino», a man of yesteryear, who handed down his love for the land and wine to his son Francesco and son-in-law Michele. In 2008 a dream came true: to renovate the family beams in Contrada Perino, in Marsala. Michele Cottone and Francesco Laudicina have revived the «old farms» in a modern cellar where technology and tradition blend to capture the energy and warmth of their land. The cellar is surrounded by one hundred hectares of vineyards that have always belonged to the family. A skilful work still carried out today in the vineyard by expert hands who work with ancient gestures, with the same care of the past and the right combination of tradition and innovation. CONTACT: https://bagliooro.it/ ADDRESS: Contrada Perino, 235 Marsala, TRAPANI

Sallemi

Located in Granieri, between Caltagirone and Vittoria, in one of the most fascinating areas of Sicily, the vineyard is owned by the Sallemi family and was planted in the 70s. Exposed on the hills, to the midday sun, it covers approximately 4 hectares. The company is family-run, this characteristic makes possible a thoughtful and accurate attention paid to the agronomic management systems of the plants and to the winemaking processes. It is an independent family-run winery. The Nero d’Avola that they produce expresses the aromas and characteristics of the territory in which it is born, and is kept alive and fragrant for many years. CONTACT: nerodavolasallemi.it ADDRESS: C.da Granieri – 95041 Caltagirone (CATANIA)

Tenuta di Fessina

This boutique winery is located on the slopes of Mount Etna and offers breathtaking views of the volcano. The winery specializes in producing elegant wines that reflect the unique terroir of the area. It is located in the municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia (metropolitan city of Catania) in the Italian region of Sicily. It was founded in 2007 by Silvia Maestrelli, who comes from a family of Florentine businessmen. The cellar with a 17th century palm has been renovated. Jacopo Maniaci is responsible as general manager, Benedetto Alessandro as oenologist. In 2022 the Villa Casa Palmento was launched with six double rooms and a canteen, where tours and wine tastings are also offered. The vineyards cover seven hectares of vines; the grapes are also supplied by small winegrowers. CONTACT: https://tenutadifessina.com/ ADDRESS: SS120, 22, 95012 Rovittello CATANIA

Feudo Montoni

In 1469 A.D., in the heart of Sicily, within the Principality of Villanova, the noble Aragonese family Abatellis built the baglio (a typical Sicilian court square building). Now, six hundred years later, our wines are made in the same cellars, and on the same land. Already in 1595 Andrea Bacci, agronomist and doctor of Pope Sisto V, praised in the pages of “De Naturali Vinorum Historia”, the first treatise of Italian Enology, the wine – growing tradition and the quality of the wine produced in these lands. For the past 30 years, Fabio has continued the work of his grandfather and father, acting as a guardian of the ancient plants and their grapes. Fabio, knowing how important his mission is, studies the past in order to look towards the future. The invention of tradition becomes the slogan of Fabio’s decisions. Fabio personally takes part in each step of the production process, from the vineyard to the cellar. Fabio’s wines , “… are very special: they have the grace of the great red wines not only for its structural richness, generally something ordinary, but for their  richness of elegance, style and class…”. CONTACT: http://www.feudomontoni.it/ ADDRESS: Contrada Montoni Vecchi 92022 Cammarata, Agrigento

Terre di Giurfo

This small winery is located in the south of the island and produces organic wines using traditional methods. Visitors can take a tour of the vineyards and cellars and taste the winery’s award-winning Cerasuolo di Vittoria. Immersed in a suggestive setting, one of the most surprising in south-eastern Sicily, along the Fiume Dirillo valley on the border between the municipalities of Licodia Eubea and the Iblea province, the estate extends over a vast area rich in history and traditions. Thanks to the generous climate, the heterogeneous composition of the soil, and the particular sun exposure, vineyards and olive groves are wisely cultivated in it that can give products rich in scents and aromas typical of the area. CONTACT: https://www.terredigiurfo.it/en/ ADDRESS: Contrada Giurfo, s.n, 95040 Licodia Eubea CT

Valle dell’Acate

Valle dell’Acate rises in the Feudo Bidini, in the province of Ragusa, a site of significant archaeological value, and extends over 70 hectares of rows between the sinuous hills formed by the Dirillo river (called Achates in Roman times). It was here that Giuseppe Jacono was the first to start wine production, opening the cellar (the «pantry») at the end of the 19th century. The Frappato traveled to the port of Scoglitti in chestnut wood barrels, on those wooden carts that today rest in the old pantry after being vinified in the millstone, the grape pressing and vinification room. In 1981 Giuseppe Jacono Jr, father of Gaetana Jacono (current manager of Valle dell’Acate), who had taken over the reins of the winery continuing the business with the same love for the territory and the same spirit of innovation as his grandfather, created VALLE DELL’ACATE for the protection of native vines. Crucial point of the production and specialization of this historic reality have always been the Cerasuolo di Vittoria BDN, the only one in Sicily to have obtained the DOCG, and the Frappato DOC di Vittoria, today considered by the ENOLOGICAL critics the best in Sicily. In 1996 Gaetana Jacono joined the company to deal with the development of international trade, with the aim of making the Ragusa area known, its prestigious vines and perpetuating the family tradition by developing a sustainable production project. For this story we consider Valle dell’Acate one of ou 10 secret wineries in Sicily you have to discover. In 2001, together with his father, she started the impressive restoration of the millstone and the pantry, the first act that will allow her to focus on her entrepreneurial path. CONTACT: https://www.valledellacate.com/ ADDRESS: Contrada Biddine Sottano, 97011 Acate RG

Cantine Pellegrino

This family-run winery is located in the heart of Marsala and has been producing wine since the 1800s. Visitors can take a tour of the cellars and taste the winery’s famous Marsala, as well as other local wines. A hard working rhythm marks the life of a land and of its men, raising nobility of soul and perpetuating ancient farming traditions. This rhythm revives the hours, days, months and years in Marsala, on the western strip of the island, a theatre reciting stories of farmers, women and men, immersed in the laborious work of the land. Today, as it was in the past, the Pellegrino family, having reached their sixth generation, lead the entrepreneurial dream which began in 1880. The warm Marsala days offer their enchanting beauty. While well kept vineyards extend among the most wonderful agricultural estates of the area, we can taste the beneficial changes the work has done in the area. “We need to imagine a prosperous and great future for the Sicily of wine, believe in it and take care of the generous land so as to create a dream, improving it more and more” said Paolo Pellegrino, founder of the Winery. Thus the secret of the success is the love that has been passed down through generations, that takes care of and protects Marsala and its wine. In this way since far away 1880, the Pellegrino family has written its own history, becoming one of the most important families of Sicilian wine. CONTACT: https://www.carlopellegrino.it/ ADDRESS: Lungomare Battaglia delle Egadi, 10, 91025 Marsala, TRAPANI

Poggio di Bortolone

The Poggio di Bortolone estate was acquired by the Cosenza family at the end of the eighteenth century and has always been handed down from father to son ever since. Poggio di Bortolone has always been cultivated with vines, olive trees and wheat as evidenced by the ancient nineteenth-century millstone with its monumental wooden press, the coeval oil mill, which still houses the ancient limestone millstone, and the ancient mill water placed along the course of the Para Para stream. «Creating great wines with my highest quality grapes gives me the opportunity to be original using winemaking techniques handed down from father to son«. PIERLUIGI COSENZA CONTACT: https://www.poggiodibortolone.it/ ADDRESS: Via Bortolone, 19, 97012 Sperlinga RAGUSA

Punta aria

The Punta Aria project was born from the visionary genius of Francangelo Pollastri when in the early 2000s, where there were only brushwood, some ruins and a forgotten beach, he saw again the magic of a place that since Roman times was unique in its beauty and for the quality of its grapes. This is the story of many people, it is the story of a great job, but it is also the pride of having revived an extraordinary place to bring it to future generations. Therefore we consider Punta Aria one of ou 10 secret wineries in Sicily you have to discover. CONTACT: www.puntaaria.it ADDRESS: Loc. Punta Bandiera – Isola di Vulcano – Eolie

Palmento Costanzo

At the foot of the “Muntagna” , in a recently restored historic Palmento, Palmento Costanzo is a place rediscovered by a local family. Everything here uncompromisingly speaks of the «Muntagna», the name we fondly use to refer to the Etna. Eighteen hectares divided into several contradas and hills. The small parcels are vinified separately because each plot is characterized by the lava flow that sedimented over time. A gem of rural engineering and a key component for production, the Palmento acquired by the Costanzo family underwent a conservative restoration process that has never been done in Sicily before. CONTACT: https://www.palmentocostanzo.com/en/ ADDRESS: C.da, 95012 Passopisciaro CATANIA

Then, Sicily is home to many hidden wineries that offer a unique experience for wine lovers. Whether you’re looking for traditional, family-run businesses or modern, innovative wineries, there’s something for everyone in Sicily’s vibrant wine scene. So why not venture off the beaten path and discover these hidden gems for yourself? You can start from these 10 secret wineries in Sicily or ask to us for a customize trip.

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