Pantelleria perfetta!

Story and photos by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet TM

The suave and debonair Travelling Gourmet jets to Italy on…

MARVELLOUS Turkish Airlines to Venice…and then to explore the wind swept island of Pantelleria of the biggest island in the Mediterranean that is SICILY! Here I saw first hand the ‘heroic viticulture’ and winemaking of trend setting Donnafugata which creates some FABULOUS wines like one of my personal favourites…Ben Rye which means ‘Son of the wind’. How apt because Pantelleria means ‘daughter of the wind’! Thus Passito (dried) di Pantelleria is the most delicious and yummy dessert wine that is perfetta with cheese and foe gras and much more! In a small but highly manoeuvrable Fiat panda expertly driven by mid amico Baldo Palermo of Donnafugata, we explored every nook and cranny of this amazing and rugged island!

In Khamma contorda or district I visited the historic Winery of Donafugata and saw up close the small ‘bonsai’ Zibibo or Muscat of Alexandria vines…many over 100 years old!

I was up at 06:00 when my Breitling titanium watch woke me. From Trapanai airport near Marsala, I touched down in Pantelleria and it was off to a flying start! With dynamic Baldo at the wheel driving along winding roads like a sepent’s tail 200m ASL, we soon arrived at the historic Donnafugata winery. On the way we stopped to admire the views of the rugged coastline which reminded me of the movie, The Count of Monte Cristo. Baldo is a goldmine of information about Pantelleria and he pointed out Giorgio Armani’s luxury villa framed by palm trees near the sea.

In 1989, the late Giacomo Rallo got the brilliant idea for a winery on this rugged island while hunting for rabbits. He thought of planting the Zibibo or Muscat of Alexandria grape to make special wines. Now Donnafugata has 14 wineries all over the island and harvest starts between mid Aug to Sept.

To be continued…

About thetravellinggourmet

As a renowned Travel, Food & Wine Writer he has travelled the world in a keen & indomitable pursuit of exotic delicacies & fine wines. His articles have been published in over 20 prestigious publications, both local & international. Dr. Lim has toured and trained in Wine Evaluation & Oenology in most of the world's top wine producing areas from France to Australia. The Travelling Gourmet says, "Gastronomy has no frontier. These are the gastronomic voyages of The Travelling Gourmet. My unending mission. To explore strange new cuisines, to seek out new wines and new culinary experiences, to boldly go where no gourmet has gone before...." Have pen, will travel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage & retrieval system, without permission from Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet and/or MSN. Material may be works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents may be true but may also be products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance whatsoever to actual person or persons, either dead or living, events, or locales may be entirely and purely coincidental and unintentional. No part of this website may be used to villify others or for criminal purposes. Interests: Travel, Food, Wines, Cooking, Wine Appreciation, Parachuting, Languages, Music, Reading, Swimming, Hunting, Ballet, Fencing, Archery, Anthropology and more... The Travelling Gourmet is a copyrighted trademark. All rights and photos reserved. No part may be reproduced without permission.

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