Palermo: Wine Tasting with Snacks at Bottega Monteleone

About This Experience

Bottega Monteleone is a small wine bar in the centre of Palermo, and this is the most reviewed wine listing on this site: a seated tasting of five Sicilian wines with a plate of food beside each glass, hosted in English or Italian. It is the easiest way to taste across the island without leaving the city.

The flight runs in the classic order. A sparkling wine opens, then a white, a rosé and a red, and it finishes on a sweet dessert wine. Your host talks through the producer and the part of Sicily each bottle comes from, and the wines are chosen from small estates rather than the big brands, so you will taste things you cannot easily find at home.

Each wine arrives with a Sicilian tapa made to match it. The five plates together add up to a light meal, which is why so many guests book the early-evening slot as an aperitivo that replaces dinner rather than precedes it. Water is included; there is nothing to pay on the night unless you buy a bottle to take away.

This is a tasting, not a tour: there is no winery, no vineyard and no transport. Book it on a Palermo evening when you want to understand what Etna, Marsala and the south-east actually taste like before deciding which region to drive to, or simply because two hours in a good wine bar is a better plan than most.

Highlights

• Five Sicilian wines from small producers, poured in order from sparkling to dessert wine
• A matching Sicilian tapa with every glass; the five plates make a light meal
• Hosted tasting in English or Italian in a wine bar in central Palermo
• The most reviewed wine experience on this site, with well over nine hundred verified reviews
• No transport and no walking: a seated two hours, a short stroll from the old town

What's Included

• ✓ Your host for the tasting
• ✓ Tasting of 5 Sicilian wines
• ✓ A Sicilian tapa paired with each wine
• ✓ Water

Not Included

• Transport to the wine bar
• Extra bottles or glasses beyond the tasting

Good to Know & Caveats

• The five tapas add up to a light meal, so the early-evening slot works well as an aperitivo that replaces dinner.
• Tell the host about allergies or dietary needs when you book; substitutions are possible, but the kitchen is small and cross-contamination cannot be ruled out for coeliacs or serious allergies.
• The drinking age in Italy is 18; the tasting is for adults.
• It is a seated tasting in a bar, not a winery visit: there are no vines or cellars on this experience.
• The exact address of the bar comes with your booking confirmation; it is in the centre of Palermo.

Meeting Point

Bottega Monteleone, a wine bar in central Palermo; the exact address is sent with your booking confirmation.