Barone di Villagrande winery — Attraction in Milo

Where good views, good wine and good food combine

Nestled in the foothills of Mount Etna, if you are looking for some peace and quiet with some good wine, then this place is for you. With only a limited number of rooms, it does have an exclusive feel to it, as the rooms are in a building secluded from the winery's main tasting buildings,with an infinity pool that has some spectacular views.

Obviously as an active winery there will be plenty of wine tours popping in throughout the day, however this was never bothersome.

Villegrane Winery is relatively isolated, with the village of Milo just over 1km up the hill, so if you are looking for lunch or dinner alternatives then this will be the nearest option. With that said the tasting menu together with wine pairings is out of this world an excellent value for money. The chef is obviously very talented as well as imaginative as they rotate 4 menus meaning that you need to won't need to leave until day 5.

The rooms are comfortable, clean and well equipped (including a range of their wines). There is a lounge area with tea and coffee facilities should you wish to make use of them. The breakfast was outstanding and for a nice change a la carte.

It should be noted that Villegrande is run very similar to a B&B with the addition of a restaurant. Therefore do not expect to find a bar or...

The wine tasting good and the accompanying food proposal as well.

The problem is the inability to be hospitable. We had made an early reservation for a table for 8 people (6 adults + 2 children); the head waiter informs us that they do not make tables larger than 6 people and that for this reason they would make two tables that they would set up next to each other.

When we arrive, the tables of 4 seats each and fully set up for 4 tastings per table (perhaps they were expecting the two children to be ready for the tasting or perhaps they made some mistake with the tables) are arranged about 2.5 m apart, the distance needed for the waiters to pass. Faced with our disappointment--it was to celebrate a person with whom we would not even be able to talk because of the distance--the maitre brings both tables 20 cm closer on each side, reducing the distance to 2.10 m.

I define my concept of proximity to the maître - I think shared by most - that it could be solved by the arrangement of the table immediately next to mine, but occupied, and the latter responds to me with a gesture of annoyance and snark.

I found this attitude and inability to be flexible out of a supposed form of "decorum" very unpleasant, which manifested itself in the most unseemly forms of...

Oof... what a disappointment. While the property and the servers were wonderful, the actual wine and food were pretty amazingly terrible. Apart from the rosé, the wine tasted of turpentine... and the food... well... to be blunt, it was awful: The pasta had a very bitter wanna-be pesto sauce with tuna cream in place of cheese (?!). The pork with cabbage and onion jam was literally the saltiest dish I've ever had in my entire life (I'll probably need to drink 3 bottles of water to not become a dehydrated shell). And the "creme brule" dessert? Eww. Unfortunately, I must say this was one of the worst meals I've had in years. When the servers asked us how we were enjoying each course, I was honest with them, and they seemed to purse their lips in agreement. Sicily is filled with so many wonderful restaurants; this is...