Il Buongustaio dell'Etna — Restaurant in Randazzo

My sister and I were driving up the coast from Catania to Taormina and decided to stop off at a vineyard to sample some genuine Italian wines. Much to our dismay, it was necessary to phone ahead to all the vineyards we went to. At the last Tenuta we attempted, a lovely man named Guiseppe let us in on a secret: Il Buongustaio Dell'Etna!

We were greeted by Pipo, an affable and welcoming connoisseur of Sicilian wine. We gave him free reign to introduce us to the local wines and he did not disappoint. Within minutes, ten bottles were lined up for our degustation. The labels ranged across several vineyards that had been recommended to us along with several that could only be known to someone familiar with the region. This is the strength of Il Buongustaio: the savoir faire of the sommeliers helps bring the best of Eastern Sicily to one place for your enjoyment.

We paired our tasting with a charcuterie board that rivaled our flight of wines for an introduction to the finer points of Italian wine culture. I will be dreaming of that spread as I go to bed tonight!

After our tasting, we took advantage of their shipping service to gift bottles of our favorites to our loved ones back home in the States. While it was not uncostly, given the international shipment, we were able to give a breadth of styles to our loved ones as a substitute for joining us on this fabulous visit to Sicily!

Grazie Pipo and Giuseppe! Non vi...

I am speechless. Pippo is so friendly and generous that an evening here makes you feel like you have a second home. Even for foreigners that don't speak the language.

His selection of sicilian wine is top notch and when we asked him to sample some local wines he was eager to open many bottles for us to try, even the more pricier ones. And so we spent a truly magical night here. Friends and strangers dropping in and out while he smiled, laughed and shared his wine willingly with everyone, while also serving some great cheese and ham platters.

It is truly great to see someone so passionate about his profession and at the same time be so generous and attentive to everyone's wellbeing. When the bill came I almost got angry at him because he had charged us way too little for what we had consumed from his cellar. We compensated by buying some extra cheese and local products and I emplore all visitors to pick up some extra quality products from this shop. We also walked away with a few bottles of high quality sicilian wine at a great price.

I thank you Pippo for a truly magical evening and I will make sure everyone I know pays you a visit when they're in Randazzo.

Bravissimo! Keep...

My girlfriend and I were so fortunate to pop into Pippo’s establishment. His care, hospitality, wine and cheese /salumeria platter are still in our minds. We spent nearly 3 hours trying wines, eating, reading a photo album on Etna (by Leonardo Sciascia) and smiling at the array of people coming in to pay respects and pick up supplies. Wholeheartedly recommended for tremendous value, amazing cultural observations, a great regional wine and salumeria selection and of course Pippo’s warm and gracious hospitality. Cannot wait to take...