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The Strada del Vino Terre Sicane is not just a route but also a way to get to know the area around the municipalities of Contessa Entellina, Menfi, Montevago, Sambuca di Sicilia and Santa Margherita di Belìce. Here, in a zone rich in cultural and environmental values, one can taste its generous wines, local products and the peculiarities of the area’s wine and food traditions.
An area where one can immerse oneself in the atmosphere of the ancient Entella at Contessa and Adranone in Sambuca, the highest Punic settlement in the Mediterranean; or bathe in the legendary Acquapia hot springs at Montevago or the magical air of the Gattopardo Literary Park at S. Margherita di Belìce or wander among the sweet and fertile hills that descend from Menfi towards the African Sea.
A land where different peoples and cultures have lived together and created history, art and traditions that link places, local products and particularly wine to myth and legend.
Wine and culture, or rather, The Taste of Culture.
In short, the right combination of culture, products and land that expresses the wine and food and places where, as Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa says in his work Il Gattopardo, “…the true aspect of Sicily reappears….”.
The Strada encompasses one of the most interesting Sicilian regions from a wine producing point of view. We only have to mention one name among many: Planeta, one of the wine producing companies that has greatly contributed to the worldwide success story of Sicilian wine.
If we then add other brands like Settesoli, the most prestigious and successful Sicilian winemaking cooperative, and Donnafugata, which has one of its most interesting production areas at Contessa Entellina, and also Feudo Arancio, Cellaro, Corbera and many other producers, it is easy to understand how wine plays an important role in the Terre Sicane.
In fact, the “Strada del Vino Terre Sicane” includes four denominations of controlled origin: Contessa Entellina, Menfi, Sambuca di Sicilia and Santa Margherita di Belice.
Wines produced in these denominations take their characteristics from some of the most prestigious native vines in Sicily such as Inzolia, Grecanico, Grillo and Catarratto that produce white wines and Nerello Mascalese and the legendary Nero d’Avola that make the reds.
But international vines have also found their ideal habitat in these territories and, for this reason, wines obtained from varieties like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are also very successful.
Besides wines this area also revels in excellent dairy food products.
We only have to mention Vastedda del Belice, an extraordinary cheese made from the milk of the Belice Valley sheep, and, still on the subject of dairy products, we can also find red Pecorino, baked Ricotta, Piacentino, Sicilian Pecorino dop and sheep’s milk ricotta.
And, still in the heart of the Belice Valley, we can find other excellent agro-food delicacies like Santa Margherita del Belice prickly pears and thorny artichokes from Menfi. |
