Sicily | the Val Di Noto Is Doubly Blessed - Witìi Beautiful Baroque Architecture and a Thriving Food and Wine Scene

A glutton s guide Sicily | The Val di Noto is doubly blessed - witìi beautiful Baroque architecture and a thriving food and wine scene. By Laura Rysman ver a farm table littered respectively, to go exploring on a route the territory," he told us, turning his with tasting glasses, Ari delineated by restaurant reviews, chefs' back on the loamy hills behind his res anna Occhipinti — a 34- recommendations and tip-offs about taurant. His plates are as baroque as San year-old vintner working promising wineries. Giorgio itself — flights of f ancy that fre- O in the rangy south-east of The f ollowing morning we struck out quently clash fish with sweet flavours, Sicily — talked us through her career, for Gulfi, a vineyard 15 miles north of combining almond mille and red mullet her wines and the philosophy underpin- Vittoria which, like Occhipinti's, offers or topping a honeyed ricotta cannoli ning both. "Wine is something that tastings and tours to visitors (as well as a with r aw shrimp. binds you to a place," she said, explain- small hotel). Though grapes may have Peering over Ragusa's craggy out- ing that she had come here a dozen been grown on the island bef ore, serious skirts is the Locanda Don Serafino, years ago, taking over a 19th-century viticulture was mtroduced by the Greeks where chef Vincenzo Candiano won his farmhouse ontside the town of Vittoria in the eighth century BC. New crops and second star in 2014. "Here we're raised and planting her first vines. By then Sic- cooking styles followed as the Romans, with the culture of eating well," he said, ily's oenological renaissance was Arabs, Normans, French and Spanish calling his cooking style "nostalgie" — already in motion: tnrning their backs each dominated the centrai Mediterra- his signature dish is a classic spaghetti on the island's famously cheap and nean island in turn. Sicily, with its fertile and sea urchin interpretation, which robust table wines, winemakers began soil and ideal climate, became the rich has been loaded with ricotta and squid to grow indigenons varieties of grapes repository for a hybrid cuisine. ink. The restaurant is in an old cave with new levels of care and rigour. After a tasting at Gulfi, we drove carved out from the mountainside, and Occhipinti went further, creating some towards the elegant white-stone city of a single luxurious hotel room, with a pri of the first wines made uniquely of the Ragusa. It is becoming synonymous vate garden and jacuzzi, abuts the din- endemie Frappato grapes, with low- with the high end of the island's cross- ing room. On the large stone terrace, yield vines and organic methods that bred culinary arts and boasts a pair of with views over juniper-covered slopes, rely on naturally occurring plants to restaurants with two Michelin stars we enjoyed our second doublé Michelin- protect the grapevines. "The land gives each. The old part of town, Ragusa Ibla, starred meal in as many days. In truth, you everything you need here," she said. looked like an impossible stack of build- though, the culinary acrobatics of both "We interfere with the grapes as little as ings — ali built atop each other and restaurants proved less fulfilling than possible so the wine will be a true clinging to a hill. The city, like ali of Val the simple delights we would f ind in the expression of the land." di Noto's Unesco-protected sites, was coming days. Tipsy from the strawberry-noted razed by a 1693 earthquake and rebuilt In 2015, Sultano opened a new restau Frappato, we sat enraptured as we lis- in the following century, creating a rant, recognising the desire for more tened to the story of a woman who sym- series of towns that are an architectural forthright cooking and a growing bolises the new vibrancy of her region's time capsule of late Baroque style ren- respect for Val di Noto's traditional cui agriculturally-inspiredgastronomy. dered in the region's pale limestone. sine. A kitchen and bakery, I Banchi Val di Noto, as Occhipinti's part of Sic Ragusa's heart is dominated by the serves what he calls "high-end common ily is known, comprises a cluster of columned and curlicued church of San food" and fresh bread from ancient t.owns included on Unesco's World Her- Giorgio. Tucked behind one of its flanks endemie grains such as Russello wheat, itage list for their Baroque beauty: is an old baron's palazzo where Ciccio used for a dark and delicious focaccia Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Noto and a few Sultano, probably Sicily's most famous topped with organic tomatoes. Located more. But it's the food and wine, pro- chef, opened II Duomo in 2000. Sultano near the lovely Antico Convento, a mon- duced in the surrounding countryside serves what he terms "gastro-rural" cui astery newly transformed into an airy and served in the towns' restaurants, sine, relying on the fertile land for deli- hotel, the restaurant sits in a stone- that are providing a new impetus for vis- cacies such as wild herbs, almonds, and walled stable converted into a long din- itors to this corner of the island. I had fresh ricotta — but he's a man who ing room filled with old animai hitehing come with my husband and two friends, believes most in his own talent. hooks and contemporary art. arriving from Milan and New York "Cuisine is created by the chef, not by In Modica, we sought out the Locanda VALLE DELL'ACATE del Colonnello, where 28-year-old mulberry, coffee, almond, and crowd- from the Arab reign. Our room was in Francesco Mineo produces simple but pleasing pistachio — even more deli- the Palazzo Favacchio Patané, a grand sensational cooking grounded in the cious when scooped up, in true Sicilian villa turned art gallery with f our elegant typical produce and recipes of the style, with a soft brioche. Most of these rooms for guests and a cozy courtyard region — octopus with potatoes and flavours arrived with the Arabs who where we relaxed with a bottle of our oregano, for example, or stuffed gnocchi ruled Sicily in the lOth and llth centu Occhipinti wine. with lemon ricotta and cucuzza squash. rie s. Giocolate, however, arrived from Leaving Scicli, we drove through a " We're guided by our past and our mem- Mexico with the Spaniards in the 16th landscape of sun-dried pastures tufted ories — combmed with a touch of inno- century. Five hundred years later, Mod with carob trees and Aleppo pines until vation so we don't get bored," Mineo we reached Casa Salina, a stone farmhouse newly converted into a four-bed- room holiday rental, with a salt pool and jacuzziby the olivegrove garden. For us, though, the USP was its chef- for-the-day service, with Ragusa-native Laura Giunta arriving to prepare exqui- site versions of classic Sicilian dishes. Arrayed in Eames chairs around the wood slab table, we caroused our way through her lunch of swordfish-stuffed eggplant, anchovy tarts, vinegar-cured ray, Ragusano cheese drizzled with saffron and honey, and plenty of Valle dell'Acate's flowery Zagra wine. Stili in our swimsuits, we struggled to polish off the final delight — Giunta's freshly filled, said, leaning on the traditional checker- ica's chocolatiers stili hew to the originai chocolate-dusted ricotta cannoh. board tiles that line the restaurant walls. recipe: freshly ground beans and sugar, Modica is composed of a more ferrous heated and mixed at no more than 45C. 1 / DETAILS limestone than Ragusa, giving it a rosy The result is a rich, grainy bar that hue. The city spreads upwards from a retains a range of cocoa flavours lost in Occhipinti wines: valley to the hilltop, where a little out- regular high-heat chocolate production. agricolaocchipinti.it; Gulfi: post called Casa Belvedere ferries trays Family-run Bonajuto has been making locandagulfi.it; Il Duomo: of locai specialities to tables with a glori- chocolate since 1880 and sells antique cicciosultano.it; Locanda Don Serafino: locandadonserafino.it ous view. There we ate arancini — deep- flavours such as j asinine, cinnamon and (suite from €350); I Banchi: fried, saffron-laced rice balls stuffed vanilla as well as new introductions ibanchiragusa.it; Antico Convento: with ragù — and scacce Modicane (a lay- such as salt and seaweed. We gorged on anticoconventoibla.it (doubles ered, tomato-filled fiat bread), washed enough of its freshly made chocolate to from €99); Locanda del Colonnello: down with an earthy white wine and preclude dinner that evening. locandadelcolonnello.it; Casa locai Minchia beer (a name too vulgar to From Modica we headed closer to the Belvedere: translate here). As we enj oyed our aper sea, to Scicli, where the buildings are a casabelvedere.oneminutesite.it; itivo, the setting sun turned the town a Latteria Caffè Storico: warm coppery pink, and the centrai, facebook.com/LatteriaCaffeStorico deeper pink — it was enough to make us smooth-cobbled pedestrian drag is Bonajuto: bonajuto.it; Scicli start studying locai house prices. jammed with amblers in the evening. Albergo Diffuso: On Modica's Corso Umberto we The Scicli Albergo Diffuso, which sciclialbergodiffuso.it (doubles indulged in sweeter treats. Latteria opened in 2012, has rooms throughout from around €80); Casa Salina: Caffè Storico serves granitas (a sort of Scicli's centre, in converted palazzos, casasalina.com (villa from around €250 per night) sorbet) in classic flavours of lemon, apartment buildings and even dammusi — stone dwellings that are holdovers VALLE DELL'ACATE Clockwise from top left: the Church of Santa Maria La Nova in Scicli; a dish at Il Duomo; the single suite at Locanda don Serafino; San Pietro church, Modica; winemaker Arianna Occhipinti; Ragusa; Ciccio Sultano in the kitchen at II Duomo; harvesting at Gulfi vineyard; one of Locanda del Colonnello's deSSertS - Gaetano Malha VALLE DELL'ACATE.

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