Where to Stay on Etna: A Luxe Renovation of a Palmento

5 min read

Across the vineyard landscape of Mount Etna, you will find hundreds, if not thousands, of palmenti — ancient wineries that used stone-carved vats and rudimentary gravity-flow technology to produce wine. These buildings are rightly a point of pride for Sicilians, as they underscore not only the ingenious designs of ancestors, but they also subtly reiterate that Mount Etna has been an important purveyor of wine for a long time.

At his Trecastagni estate, winemaker Ciro Biondi has long tended his grapevines in the shadow of his family’s palmento, situated in the stunning San Nicolo’ vineyard. An architect by training, and one of Italy’s great winemakers, Biondi has long had designs to do something with that palmento. Because of European Union regulations established in 1991, these palmenti can no longer be used for making wine, since sanitizing the porous stone basins to EU standards was deemed insufficient. While that is a contentious policy to discuss on another day, it should be said that there are no such draconian laws when it comes to turning a palmento into a guest accommodation.

Which is what Ciro, and his wife and business partner, Stef Biondi, did.

Where Toil Meets Posh

I am in the midst of writing a chapter on Etna’s wines for my forthcoming book, Opening a Bottle of Italy. Over the summer, when I was first invited to attend the Etna Days event as a guest of the consorzio, I opted to extend my stay by three days and rent a car for a little independent exploring. The first winery I reached out to for a visit was Azienda Agricola Biondi. Ciro’s wines have always spoken to me in ways that go beyond tasting notes, and significant portions of his three vineyards can be classified as “heroic,” a subject matter I’d love to develop more expertise on. I really wanted to photograph these vineyards and visit for a couple of hours if I could.

As it turned out, Ciro and Stef had just finished renovating their palmento, and so Stef invited me to be among the first to stay there.

She told me that part of their motivation was to provide a place to stay for their business associates, colleagues and members of the wine trade who visit. Whether you sell wine, write about it or educate people on it, in-person visits are an essential tool to better understand the uniqueness of specific wines, and Ciro’s wines are certainly unique. Few could argue with the access this palmento provides.

Surrounded on three sides by the San Nicolo’ vineyard, guests have a front-row seat to one of Etna’s most dramatic (and clearly-volcanic) vineyards. (The Etna Rosso that comes from San Nicolo’ was my No. 1 wine of 2021, and a big reason why I reached out to the Biondi’s for a visit).

But the Biondi’s also liked the idea of providing some hospitality to travelers who, after all, are just as curious about the wines they make.

Step Inside Palmento San Nicolo’

Here is a walking tour of the palmento. The contrast between the toil this vineyard requires and the relaxation the palmento demands is what makes the whole experience so thrilling.

Biondi’s meticulous attention to detail in the vineyard and cellar are evident when you taste his wines, but to see that trait reflected in the details of this palmento is very interesting.

There are two rooms, and I opted to stay in the one which houses the palmento instruments. A large wooden beam soars through the space, connected to a massive screw. This created leverage for pressing grapes beneath a disc-shaped stone. From there, the juice would flow into tanks below, which are now under glass that you walk past as you enter the room. The feeling is that of a minor archaeology site, but once you climb the stairs to the bed — and see the way the bedroom window perfectly frames San Nicolo’s heroic and steep slopes — you undoubtedly feel at home.

A second room has a one-way window in the shower that looks out over San Nicolo’ — but which you cannot see in, affording great privacy. And an outdoor common space can accommodate morning espresso or impromptu apertivo hours with a view of the not-so-distant Ionian Sea.

Breakfast is on your own, but you can head into Trecastagni for that or hit up the local Coop for what you need ahead of time. There is an Airbnb listing for the property, but I suggest contacting Ciro and Stef directly through their website if you are interested in staying.

One can hope that this practice is successful and that other winemaking families across Etna find unique ways to convert these soulful buildings into accommodations. It’s what wine travelers want: a sense of intimacy with place, which wine is so good at providing.

More Wine Travel Ideas

For more articles on unique vineyard accommodations, check out my profile on this tiny home in Fleurie, this B&B in Barbaresco which re-invents the category or my comprehensive guide on where to stay in Southern France.

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Note: I stayed for two nights complementary as a guest of Ciro and Stef Biondi. However, they did this knowing I was featuring them in my forthcoming book, and that that was the point of my stay. This article was created because I thought it was noteworthy, and because I know many of my readers are seeking recommendations on authentic places to stay. Learn more about my editorial policies.