Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey (English edition) by Robert V. Camuto

In Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey, the journalist and writer Robert V. Camuto signs a vibrant narrative dedicated to the Sicily, land of contrasts, of millennial traditions and of viticultural renaissance.

Driven by a deep passion for the wine and a inexhaustible cultural curiosity, Camuto travels the island from west to east, from Palermo to Marsala, across the arid hills of the interior and up to the majestic slopes of Mount Etna, where the ancestral vines are being revived under the impetus of a new generation of winemakers.

This initiatory journey goes beyond mere oenological exploration: it reveals a Sicilian identity in full transformation. The author sees in it the wine a metaphor of renewal, a way for Sicily to break away from one's past shadows — those of the mafia, of the corruption and the poverty — to assert a Free and luminous soul.

Through more than a year of immersion, Camuto captures the portraits and voice of those who bring this land to life: committed winemakers, , historical families, , young producers and Foreigners charmed by the magnetic force of the island.

Each chapter reveals a unique facet of this Sicilian wine culture :

• the "Palmenti", these old stone presses, symbols of rural tradition,

• the luxurious markets from Palermo and Catania,

• the religious rituals imbued with a baroque spirituality,

• and the human warmth of a proud and welcoming people.

In his luminous pages, , Palmento compares the diversity of Sicilian wines — from the Nero d'Avola to the Nerello Mascalese, of the sweet wines of Marsala to the mineral wines of Etna — and the diversity of the island's soul.
Each wine becomes a expression of the link between nature and humanity, a Fragile and poetic balance that Camuto conveys with a pen that is both Sensory and documented.

The book also mentions the anti-Mafia initiatives, the community projects and the new domains that are redefining the face of Sicilian wine. You encounter Local personalities, of the artists, of the musicians and of the Passionate foreigners, all united by a shared love for the Sicilian land and his/her/its reborn wine heritage.

Published in the collection At Table of theUniversity of Nebraska Press, this illustrated story of 30 photographs and of a detailed map reads like a invitation to travel, a meditation on taste, culture, and freedom.
Palmento is not just a book about wine: it is a Ode to Sicily, to his/her/its strength of character, at its contrasting flavors and at this joy of living that can be found in every shared glass.

🔸 Characteristics

• Title: Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey

• Author: Robert V. Camuto

• Language: English

• Editor: University of Nebraska Press

• Collection: At Table

• Publication date: March 1, 2012

• Format: Paperback

• Pagination: 312 pages

• Illustrations: 30 illustrations, 1 map

• Dimensions: 216 x 138 x 28 mm

• Weight: 404 g

• ISBN: 9780803239951

• Themes: Italy, Wines, Travel Stories