Foodies of the world! I have a delicious new location for you, and the good news is there is great wine to go alongside. Folks, I’m talking about the southernmost island in Italy: Sicily. Sicily is famous for fresh products and simple ingredients, in both the wine and food food for the region. So I really recommend you start researching your next holiday in Sicily if you love fresh, affordable and delicious food and wine.

Another great thing about Sicily is that every town and village has their own food or wine festival during the year, usually from spring to fall. They celebrate their produce and the typical products of their town. Here are some of my favorite food and wine festivals, also known as Sagre, in Sicily.

(one) (two) (three)

Sagra della Seppia is dedicated to cuttlefish. You can feast on them in all different forms, from raw to fried to baked in a pie. It is located in Donnalucata, which is a coastal village south of Scicli. It usually happens during the month of March.

Sagra della ricotta e del formaggio takes place in the hometown of the great author Giovanni Verga, Vizzini. It is one of the oldest sagre on the island and is dedicated to ricotta products in all forms. This includes sweets like cassata and cannoli as well as savory dishes like pizza and pastas with ricotta. You will also get the chance to taste many other local cheeses. It usually happens in the last week of April. All hail the cheesemakers!

Sagra del Pomodoro and I Gusti del Barocco is a festival dedicated to tomatoes. It takes place near Scicli in the town of Sampieri. Tomatoes are really just an excuse for 3 days of eating, drinking, cooking, exchanging folk tales and celebrating their culture. It takes place during the first week of May, this year from April 30th to May 4th.

Inycon a Menfi Wine Festival is the perfect opportunity to taste some of the island’s finest wines. You can also take tours of the local cantinas in one of Sicily’s most famous wine-tasting towns. You can also taste local olive oil and other food products. Of course, there are concerts and shows to entertain your desire for nightlife. As the name suggests, it takes place in Menfi at the end of June. This year it was from June 20th to June 22nd.

Sagra della pepata di cozze is a mussel-lovers paradise! It takes place at Aci Trezza which is a seaside village on the coast between Catania and Taormina on the Ionian Sea. The first week of July gives way to this seafood celebration of the peppered mussels. They are boiled and doused with pepper, parsley and garlic. Fresh and delicious, this is a festival not to be missed.

There are hundreds of other festivals around the island, so check out a side like http://www.thethinkingtraveller.com which gives you a list of all the current dates and locations of the various food festivals in Sicily. Happy holidays, and buon appetito!