Before we even reached Catania this morning, we were surprised by the activity on Mt Etna. From our balcony, we could see the volcano was puffing and we could see the smoke plume from miles away. It was awesome to see and we were grateful for the perfect blue skies as a backdrop.

Mt. Etna is the largest and most active volcano in Europe. They also call it the safest, as it regularly lets off energy. Located on the convergent margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the last time that Mt. Etna had a major event was November 2023. Its elevation is 3400 ft and in 1669, its eruption broke the city wall of Catania and 11 other villages nearby, killing 15,000.

Today we enjoyed a tour out of the city to the village of Santa Veneria, sitting at the base of Etna and located 30 miles north of Catania. Our tour took us to a local winery, Margo, and we had a terrific cellar tour there. We learned how the local environment plays a significant role in the taste of the wines. The volcanic soil produces a mineral taste and the close ocean waters lend a salty taste to the wines. We also learned how they utilize a two-stage fermenting process for all of their bubbly whites, and note it on the bottle label with two different appellation dates. We also were shown the yeast fermenting in the bottle, and a fancy machine that changes the bottles’ pitch and rotation. Of all of the wine tours we’ve taken over the years, this one really taught us some things. The wines were tasty too. In particular, we liked the Cabernet Sauvignon, which for lack of a better description, seemed like we were tasting a volcano (in a good way!!); earthy, big and bold.

After leaving Margo, we drove back to Catania and enjoyed a small tour of the city. There is definitely a baroque influence in the architecture, but also a Spanish one too. They call it Sicilian Baroque and it is marked by its ornateness, grandeur, and manipulation of the eye. The weather was beautiful and we had a very nice day.