Best Wineries to Visit in Sicily
The Sicilian wineries that genuinely welcome visitors — Florio and the Marsala cellars, Gambino on Etna, Ramaddini near Noto — with tasting prices from $15 and how to get to each.
A list of Sicily’s best wineries is not the same as a list of the best wineries to visit. Some of the island’s most famous names do not take walk-in guests at all, and a few of the most rewarding visits are at small family cellars nobody outside Sicily has heard of. This guide only names estates that host visitors and can be booked, either directly through a listing on this site or through a tour that goes there. Prices are the operators’ own.
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Etna: Gambino Vini, Linguaglossa
Gambino sits at about 900 metres on the north slope above Linguaglossa, with a terrace that looks down over the vineyards to the coast. It is the estate most Taormina tours visit, and it is also bookable on its own. The Mount Etna winery tour and tasting is the premium version: a cellar walk, a welcome white, then five current vintages paired with egg, olive oil, preserves and cheeses, for $71 and rated 4.8 / 5 from 124 reviews (our breakdown →). The Etna Nord wine tasting experience is the four-wine version at $49. You need a car or a taxi for either; the tasting itself takes about 90 minutes.
Etna: Tenute dei Ciclopi and the urban cellars of Catania
If you are in Catania without transport, two Etna wineries have brought the tasting to you. Tenute dei Ciclopi, which grows Nerello Mascalese and Carricante on the north slope, runs a tasting room a few minutes from the Duomo; the Etna wine tasting at Tenute dei Ciclopi pours four Etna DOC wines with a platter for $46. The other is an 18th-century urban winery inside the city where the Etna urban winery Sicilian lunch with wine tasting serves a three-course lunch with four Etna wines for $73, rated 4.9 / 5 from 84 reviews.
Marsala: Cantine Florio
Florio is the historic house of Marsala, founded by Vincenzo Florio in 1833 on the seafront between the old English cellars, and its long tufa-stone warehouses are the single most visited winery in western Sicily. The Florio winery tour with food-paired wine tastings walks the cellars and finishes with one dry Florio wine and two Marsalas, for $59 and rated 4.8 / 5 from 134 reviews (our breakdown →). It is in town, so it works without a car, and it is the Marsala stop on most day trips from Palermo.
Marsala: Cantine Mothia and Baglio DiAr
Two smaller Marsala cellars offer more personal visits at a fraction of the price. Cantine Mothia, a family winery in a 19th-century baglio between the town centre and the salt pans, has one of the owners lead the historic winery tour with wine tasting: four wines including a Marsala, with olives, dried tomatoes and pizza rianata, for $29 and rated 4.8 / 5 from 163 reviews (our breakdown →). Baglio DiAr, a young certified-organic estate, runs the organic winery tour and tasting in Marsala: five wines from native grapes, Grillo to Perricone, plus their olive oil, for $15 (our breakdown →). That is the cheapest winery visit on this site and it is rated 4.8 / 5 from 181 reviews.
Noto and Marzamemi: Ramaddini
Ramaddini occupies an old wine warehouse in contrada Lettiera just outside Marzamemi, in the heart of Nero d’Avola country. It offers a short and a long visit. The Val di Noto wine tour, tasting and aperitif at $49 covers the cellar and four wines with a full board of Sicilian bites, from fried chickpeas to Modica chocolate (our breakdown →). The FR Lovers tasting at Ramaddini is three wines for $29. Combine either with the beach at Marzamemi or the baroque centre of Noto, twenty minutes inland.
Ragusa: a Nero d’Avola estate near Ragusa
The winery tour and local food tasting near Ragusa is the best-rated visit in Sicily’s DOCG country: a walk through Nero d’Avola vines, the production cellar, then four wines with scacce, cheeses and taralli, for $45 and rated 4.9 / 5 from 9 reviews (our breakdown →). The small review count reflects how few visitors reach the Ragusa hills, not the quality.
Western Sicily beyond Marsala
Two more estates are worth the detour if you are staying around Palermo or Trapani. Elios, a natural-wine producer in Alcamo, hosts the Western Sicily natural wine vineyard tour and tasting: a vineyard walk and six wines with the producers for $41, rated 4.9 / 5 from 54 reviews. In the Partinico hills, a historic family estate serves the historic Sicilian vineyard and wine tasting tour as a brunch among the vines and olive groves for $56.
The visits compared
| Winery | Region | Tasting | Price | Rating | Car needed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gambino Vini | Etna, Linguaglossa | 5 wines + food | $71 | 4.8 / 5 (124) | Yes |
| Tenute dei Ciclopi tasting room | Catania centre | 4 Etna DOC wines | $46 | 5.0 / 5 (22) | No |
| Cantine Florio | Marsala | 3 wines, cellar walk | $59 | 4.8 / 5 (134) | No |
| Cantine Mothia | Marsala | 4 wines + snacks | $29 | 4.8 / 5 (163) | Short taxi |
| Baglio DiAr | Marsala | 5 wines + oil | $15 | 4.8 / 5 (181) | Yes |
| Ramaddini | Marzamemi | 4 wines + aperitif | $49 | 4.8 / 5 (10) | Yes |
| Estate near Ragusa | Ragusa | 4 wines + food | $45 | 4.9 / 5 (9) | Yes |
| Elios | Alcamo | 6 natural wines | $41 | 4.9 / 5 (54) | Yes |
A note on the famous names
Planeta, Donnafugata, Tasca d’Almerita and the leading Etna contrada producers are the estates wine lovers ask about, and some of them do take visitors by appointment. None of them, at the time of writing, has a bookable listing in the catalogue this site compares, so we do not rank them here. If a guided tour names one of them, the visit is real; if a listing only says “a winery”, assume a family estate you have not heard of, which on Etna and in Marsala is usually the better afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best winery to visit in Sicily?
For a first visit with a view, Gambino on Etna’s north slope. For history, Cantine Florio in Marsala. For value, Baglio DiAr in Marsala at $15 for five wines. For Nero d’Avola at the source, Ramaddini near Marzamemi. Each is bookable on its own and rated 4.8 / 5 or better.
Can I visit Sicilian wineries without a car?
Yes, in the cities. Florio is inside Marsala, Tenute dei Ciclopi and the urban winery are inside Catania, and Palermo has several tasting rooms. Every other estate on this list needs a car, a taxi, or a guided tour with pick-up: see Etna wine tours from Taormina and wine tours from Palermo.
Do Sicilian wineries need to be booked in advance?
Nearly all of them. Tastings run at set times with a host, so turning up unannounced rarely works, and the family estates in particular ask for a day or two of notice. Every listing here confirms instantly and cancels free up to 24 hours ahead.
Which Marsala winery is best?
Florio for the historic cellars and the classic Marsala tasting; Cantine Mothia for a family-led visit at $29; Baglio DiAr for organic wines at $15. All three are within a few kilometres of each other, so two in a day is realistic with a car.
Are winery visits in Sicily suitable for children?
Most estates welcome families and serve food alongside the wine, but the tasting itself is for adults; Italy’s drinking age is 18. Tours that include a volcano walk or a long transfer are the ones to check age limits on.
Ready to book?
Pick the region first: Etna wine tasting and winery tours, Marsala winery tours and tastings or Noto wine tours. If you would rather be collected and driven, best wine tours in Sicily compares the guided days, and the homepage has everything by area.