The La Griglia Restaurant aside from its authentic passion for cooking, with care for the freshness and seasonality of its dishes, is also very attentive to the splendid wine tradition of this magical territory, “Sicily”. We have always given great importance to Wine, not considering it as just a mere accompaniment, but as a great vehicle of tastes.
As lovers of good wine, for many years now the Intelisano family in their own vineyard above Taormina in Sicily produce a small reserve of Nerello Mascalese intended to be enjoyed only by a chosen few. Since 1999, the year of the opening of the Hotel Villa Sonia, an ancient villa transformed into a splendid hotel, they have changed the vintage into a Wine Festival in which their guests participate in the harvest of the Nerello Mascalese grapes.
Mentioned in the weekly publication “I Vespri” the grape harvest is held every year in the first week of October. This is a day dedicated to wine and to the atmosphere of the harvest, to that magical and thrilling moment, as old as the hills. It is an ancient rite during which people eat and drink together, sing songs, tell stories and make new friends… During the first part of the day, the guests relive the tradition of the ancient harvest. They gather the grapes in the “cannistri”, wicker baskets, which are then emptied into larger baskets. The grapes are then taken inside the wine-making plant where the grapes are put through the “pisatura”, pressing. The “pisaturi”, or grape traders, in this case, the tourists, guests from all over the world, tread the grapes with their bare feet.
The must that is obtained, through the holes, is poured into tubs called “tinieddi”, and then, once placed in barrels, you have to wait for months before tasting the good, genuine Nerello Mascalese di Mancanna. We have taken the excellent wine cellars in our region into consideration in our Wine Selection , without neglecting the whole of Italy. Sicily, due to its climate, mild temperatures and hilly landscape, is considered the Island of wine. In fact, with its varieties of wines, Sicily confirms its wine-making reputation whose roots go back to Greek times. Sicily lays strong claim to and deeply associates itself with the name "Land of the Vine” which goes back, as an unbroken link with the ancient past and the cradle of Mediterranean civilisation. According to legend, the vine sprouted for the first time in the island of tears of the thirsty Dionysius. And so appeared that nectar that the ancient god gave to men as comfort for their toil and to the gods to delight their senses.
Nero d’Avola, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Nerello Mascalese, Inzolia Passiti, Moscati, Malvasie… but also experiments with grape varieties such as Chardonnay, Cabernet, Syrah, Merlot, etc... ensure that Sicilian wine production is assuming an increasingly important role equal to that of other Italian regions. For wine lovers, we have a wide selection of labels, from which you can choose and a provided selection of the main Italian labels, to taste along with our specialities. You can be guided or else choose your own favourite wine, or else rely on our daily recommendation.
An essential element for the success of a pleasant supper, La Griglia offers the best of their wine cellar with an excellent choice of over 100 labels in an intimate environment, in which the customer - visitor - taster, consulting the wine list, may abandon himself to the pleasure of wine in complete relaxation.
