Catania: Etna Urban Winery Sicilian Lunch with Wine Tasting
About This Experience
An 18th-century winery with its vineyard still intact, inside Catania. You do not drive up the volcano for this one; the volcano's southern soil is already under your feet.
A sommelier explains how wine was made here more than three hundred years ago, then everyone sits down at a shared Sicilian table. Lunch is cooked from the host's grandmother's recipes — antipasti, a pasta or rice primo, and a meat or fish secondo — poured with four Etna wines: the Vigna Grande red plus a sparkling, a white and a rosato.
Registration is at 12:45 pm and lunch is served at 1:00 pm sharp. Afterwards the grounds are yours: the urban vineyards, the 1790 cellar building and the gardens are all open to wander.
It is also the one genuinely family-friendly wine stop on this site — there is a sandbox and a small trampoline for younger children and a reading and painting corner for older ones, plus a treasure-hunt map if you ask.
Highlights
- A 1790 winery and working vineyard inside the city of Catania
- Four Etna wines — red, sparkling, white and rosato
- Three-course Sicilian lunch from the host family's own recipes
- Sommelier-led history of how Etna wine was made three centuries ago
- Self-guided access to the urban vineyard, the historic cellar and the gardens afterwards
What's Included
- ✓ Antipasti
- ✓ Primo — pasta or rice course
- ✓ Secondo — meat or fish course
- ✓ Tasting of the Vigna Grande red
- ✓ Tasting of three further Etna wines: sparkling, white and rosato
- ✓ Self-guided visit to the urban vineyards
- ✓ Self-guided visit to the 1790 historic family winery
- ✓ Time in the gardens after lunch
Not Included
- Transport to the winery
- Shuttle from central Catania (available at extra cost, April–October, on request)
Good to Know & Caveats
- Arrive at 12:45 pm for registration; lunch is served at 1:00 pm and it does not wait.
- A shuttle from central Catania can be arranged for an extra fee between April and October, on request.
- It is a shared table, so you will be eating with other guests rather than at your own.
- Families are actively welcome — sandbox, small trampoline, and a reading and painting corner.
- Ninety minutes covers the lunch; the grounds stay open to you afterwards.
Meeting Point
Etna Urban Winery, Catania — a walled 1790 estate and vineyard inside the city.
What Travelers Say
Rated 4.9/5 by 81 verified GetYourGuide travelers.
Our favourite activity while visiting Catania. Interesting history of the place and such a beautiful setting. Lovely staff, incredible food and wine and a nice and easy mapped out self- guided walk around the vineyard. Definitely worth a visit!
— Angela, August
Very good, highly recommended. There were 4 of us, and we all thought it was fantastic.
— Kire, June 13
This experience is a hidden gem in Sicily! The experience starts with a 20-30 minute tour of the winery with a friendly, knowledgeable guide. You’re then taken to a large table where the group shares a 4-course meal paired with 4 local wines. All the food and wines were exceptional and each part was explained well by the same guide. Our group size was around 14 people, all of whom were lovely and provided excellent conversation throughout the experience. After the meal you are free to roam the vineyards and purchase more glasses of the wines. Throughout the experience, we felt welcome and relaxed, never rushed. We also booked the shuttle service to and from Catania via the vineyard’s website - we would definitely recommend doing this, the service was easy to use and excellent value for money as taxis can be very expensive!
— Emily, May 25,
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this on Mount Etna?
It is on Etna's southern side, but inside Catania rather than up the mountain — the city sits on the volcano's lower slopes and this estate has farmed the same walled vineyard since 1790. If you want vines at altitude, the north-slope estates around Linguaglossa are the ones to book.
What time does it start?
Registration at 12:45 pm, lunch served at 1:00 pm. It is a fixed sitting, so build the rest of your day around it.
Which wines are poured?
Four: the estate's Vigna Grande red, plus a sparkling, a white and a rosato — all Etna wines.
Can we get there from central Catania without a car?
A shuttle from the city centre can be arranged for an extra fee from April to October, but you have to request it in advance. Otherwise it is a short taxi ride.
Is it suitable for children?
Unusually so for a wine tour. There is a sandbox and a small trampoline for younger children, a reading and painting corner for older ones, and a treasure-hunt map on request.
Is it a private table?
No — it is a shared Sicilian table, which is the point of the format. Book the private Etna wine tours if you want your own party only.
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