There is a cavernous, up lighted wine cellar in the basement of Palazzo Notar Nicchi  - The Sicilian House, which is slowly being filled with some really good Sicilian wines for guests.

Once a cisterna (almost 1000 years old) the deep cool cellar, the creation of the lovely artistic Sicilian architect Claudia Buccellato, is unique.

With a vaulted ceiling and gently sloping iron racks which line the stone steps, it is filling with wines from all over Sicily. And, in particular some wines from a particularly beautiful aristocratic winery, only 40minutes from Polizzi Generosa, Tenuta Regaleali.  Regaleali is a vast Sicilian wine estate; one of five owned by the Tasca D’Almerita family throughout Sicily. It has been the heart of the family’s wine production for over 8 generations.

A Trip to Regaleali:

May 2013 was our first trip to Regaleali to begin filling the racks in the old cisterna. And, we returned happily this year.

We took the SS120 out of town and headed down to join the SP 8  from there it was about a 25 minute drive to Regaleali. Past ancient baronial farming estates, rolling verdant hills, olive groves and fields of springtime flowers;  the turnoff to Regaleali was well signposted.

We turned into the dirt road and after a short distance we came up over a hill and saw Regaleali: an 18th century stone house with hectares of tended rows of vineyards and olive groves stretching to the horizon. We parked the car along the water troughs, opposite the small free standing chapel and walked through the cobalt blue doors into the long flagstoned entry. Straight ahead was a large open courtyard with walls draped with roses. To the left was the Regaleali wine shop: white washed and vaulted.

The Wines:

Signore Corrado, greeted us and explained the profiles of the wines; all produced by Regaleali; all DOC wines and award winners; here are a couple that I really like.

·         Nozze d’Oro: a white wine made from Inzolia and Sauvignon Tasca grapes, fresh and golden in colour. With hints of apple, melon, jasmine and honey it was created by Count Giuseppe Tasca d’ Almerita as a gift to his wife, Franca, on the occasion of their 50^th wedding anniversary. This is a lovely white wine : fruity and fragrant. I like this with grilled swordfish, lemon squeezed over and served with a fennel and orange salad on a summer's day.

·         Regaleali Bianco: their best known and first ever white wine made from Grecancio, Inzolia, Calarratti and Chardonnay grapes. It is crisp, fresh and clean. And a favourite with Ristorante Itria in Polizzi, particulary with their seasonal wild asparagus pasta.

We bought a few dozen from Corrado and as they were packed we wondered the courtyard and sat in the sun.

We headed back to Polizzi, pulled up at the back of Palazzo Notar Nicchi in Piazza Sant’ Orsola unpacked the Regaleali wine and placed the bottles in the racks in the deep cellar next to other Sicilian wines.

Salve,

Suzanne

Editorial note: Please note that the photos of the wine and the cellar at Palazzo Notar Nicchi which appear in this blog post are courtesy of architect Claudia Buccellato. The photos of both the cellar and wines were taken for Ms Buccellato prior to 2013.