THE WINE ROUTES

The Wine Route of Etna is an evocative journey on Volcano with the aim to enhance and promote the wine-growing areas. The wine routes of Etna includes vineyards, wineries, farms, wine bars, museums, wine information centers and acceptance companies specializing in local Etna products and quality tourist facilities. More than 20 wineries, located in amazing places, make part of the Wine Road of Etna and are open to visitors and vine lovers.

The tour starts in Giardini Naxos, where our headquarters is located. After a short briefing and bikes setup, we start our ride along the national road 114 going flat for about 3 kilometers in the direction of Etna. We go towards the town of Calatabiano, along the road surrounded by lemon and oranges gardens at 200 meters above sea level. We pass by the wonderful Arabic-Norman Castel of Calatabiano – an important archaeological site of this area, which also was a Byzantine fortress, 2300 years old. The wine route is ahead!

Slight uphill about 2 to 5 % from here begins. We ride along Alcantara Gorges. This river takes its name from Arabic word “bridge” and divides the provinces of Messina and Catania. Finally we arrive to our first resting point, located on an antique bridge. The most 
noteworthy here are the beautiful black balsamic walls of river Alcantara, created by volcanic lava flow.

Hiking by the national road SS 185 with the uphill of 2 to 5 % we can also arrive up to 8% for a couple of hundred meters. Another place of interest on our wine routes – the town of Francavilla di Sicilia, which takes its name from French.  Therefore we are at 340 meters above sea level. This truly picturesque location offers panoramic views over the whole Alcantara Gorges and an almost destroyed medieval castle...

We go on by SP 71 for another 5 kilometers, with the uphill up to 9 %, surrounded by vineyards and hazel groves, until we arrive tour second point of rest at the famous Castelo di Lauri. The latter stands on the sand stones from 900 AC. We are in town of Castiglione di Sicilia famous for its vines and traditional Siclian Etna food. On the Etna wine rout admiring the beauty of vineyards and breathing the fresh Etna air.

Leaving this beautiful setting behind us we climbe for another 4 kilometers with an average gradient of 7%, towards the hilltop at 780 meters above sea level – our highest point of the day. After that we finally arrive to our base in Giardini Naxos, tracing an adrenaline downhill of about 20 kilometers. Passing through Mt. Etna towns on the opposite hills we climbed in the begininbg, we create a huge ring on the medium Etna mountain, running in total about 60 kilometers and 1000 meters the difference in level.

Altimetry