Wine on the Slopes of Mt. Etna

Another yummy breakfast, courtesy of Julia and crew, and another clear view of Mt. Etna where we were headed later on.

First, though, there was imaging (selections are always the hardest part for our participants) and critiques. The latter were thoughtful, and our group found inspiration in the work of others.

“Where were you standing?”

“I didn’t see that!”

And so forth and so on.

It was time to grab some lunch around the corner from our hotel and head up onto Etna Nord.

Mt. Etna is divided into two sections, north and south, and we would go up the side we see from our hotel.

Talk about windy roads! Switch-backs galore, hoping that a bus was not coming down the other way!

We were meeting Frank Cornelissen in a town near one of his vineyards. A Cave where they sell and serve wine, there was plenty, and the owner clearly knew we were coming. While we were waiting for Frank, I found some graphic shots, something I have always enjoyed.

Frank came up the steps and greeting me Italian style and shook hands with the others. Always charming, he offered us some of his wine while he conducted some business. Being proper travelers, we graciously said, “Yes!”

All kidding aside, we enjoyed he wine. It had beautiful legs, and a very interesting flavor. This is a wine that Frank is still developing, I believe.

Frank finished what he needed to do, and we piled into the cars and drove up the mountain.

This is territory that Arnie and I have explored on our own before, and also territory we visited in Tutti Turi Tour (on YouTube). Something really looked familiar, and I “knew” we would see an old stone house on the right with a small olive garden, and a stone barn across the lane. Sure enough!

I opened my window and pointed to the right so Arnie could recognize it, too!

Frank took us into several vineyards. On these steep slopes, everything is terraced.

With the late-afternoon light, the leaves glowed.

A small stone shelter backed up into the hillside.

The earth was black. After all, this is lava territory. Our shoes were black, and in my case, my feet and flip-flops had turned a dusty shade of gray.

Our group found all sorts of things to photograph.

Eventually, Turi met us, and we drove to a big lava field nearby from the 1981 eruption. We were told this had been the fastest lava flow of all the eruptions, but miraculously, little damage was done to villages. Yes, some of the vineyard fell prey to the molten rock, but the Sicilians are a resilient people, and they replant when they can.

Turi and his dog were standing by a post where Turi had “planted” a Poppy. I showed him how to isolate the flower against the lava, then said he really needed to hold it in his teeth. He laughed and obliged!

Everyone got shots of this fantastical moonscape, and we drove to a nearby town with a local trattoria owned by friends of Frank and Turi. Frank took his leave to go home to his family, and we said our good-byes.

With a menu written in Italiano, Turi helped us and selected a couple of bottles of Frank’s wine.

It was delicious. No fish here. We are in the mountains! But the rabbit and veal and other meats were fresh and delicious. So were the vegetables.

People kept coming in, and Turi kept introducing us. Another local winemaker came in, and eagle-eyed Turi saw a bottle he recognized. He went over, and soon, we had one at our table, too.

It was getting late, and Turi had invited us to join him at the vegetable and fish market in the morning, so we paid our bill, thanked the restaurant owner, and wended our way back down the mountain, Turi kindly in the lead.

I don’t think anyone had any trouble getting to sleep!

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