Some friends of ours were nice enough to invite us to a little weekend at a winery about an hour and a half south of where we live. COS winery is one of Sicily’s most renowned wine makers. But in typical Sicilian fashion we weren’t going to just taste some wines for an hour and then move onto the next winery, we were setup to have a large lunch to accompany our tastings. We also decided to stay the night at the winery itself, which was a very cool experience.
The guy running the show at COS is Pino. He is a great host and was a former chef at a Sicilian restaurant in Germany. He was at that restaurant over 15 years. Being able to have a Sicilian restaurant that long in Germany is a feat in itself. Now he is enjoying a semi retirement in his homeland. The meal that he preparedfor us was amazing.
We had a group of almost 20 people. The setting of the meal was in an old storehouse/winery that was renovated, but still carried the old world charm. The kitchen was one that I would kill for. The meal/wine cost €35 per person and the rooms were €90, which included a great Sicilian breakfast. We also went on a tour of the winery and Pino explained all the intricacies of COS wine. All in all it is a great little getaway option.
I am really enjoying the Sicilian version of wine tasting. It is very relaxed and usually includes a great meal, which just makes the wine ‘pop’. I never realized how much wine tasting in the States feels like a cattle call. The piling into party buses going from winery to winery forcing through the crowds to get a lame sip of wine and some stale crackers. I really think if stateside wineries would go this route they would open up a whole new world of business. COS has got it right… this is how wine was meant to be experienced.
Link to COS: http://www.cosvittoria.it/english/default.htm
