By Hideyuki Nakata, IWA, DipWSET
We left Calabria with wonderful memories of wines and food including newly upgraded Cirò DOCG wines. Now we are heading to Mount Etna, Sicily, crossing the Strait of Messina by ferry revealing the beautiful skyline of Monti Peloritani above the port city of Messina. Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe (3,326m asl), and it used to be called “Island within an Island” which means, to my understanding, “Cool Climate on Mediterranean.”
It fascinated people from all over the world, not only for the beauty of the mountain itself, but also for the diversity in terms of volcanic terrain and soils, climate and weather, indigenous grape varieties and grape growing environments. As far as the winegrowing area is concerned, it consists of an eastern slope (400m – 900m asl), a northern slope (500m – 900m) and the southern side (600m – 1,000m)
Just for reference, to understand how diverse it is, Mount. Etna has a mean annual temperature from 12 to 18 degrees Celsius, a heat summation from 1,250 on the Winkler Scale (Region I) to 2,300 (Region V), an annual precipitation of 600mm on the southwest slope and 1,600mm on the eastern slope, several wind directions, harvest timing difference of 20 days, and a 2-degree Brix difference in sugar levels.
Milo: I Vigneri, Carricante, and the Flavours of Sicilian Tradition
First, we visited I Vigneri Salvo Foti in Milo. I Vigneri has 5.5ha of vineyard at three different locations (the eastern slope, the northern slope and the northwestern) and produces about 40,000 bottles a year. It plants mainly Carricante at Milo (750 asl), Nerello Mascalese on the northern slope (550m asl) and Minella Bianca, Minella Nera and others on the northwestern slope (1,300m asl) accordance to the most appropriate altitude for each grape variety.
Salvo Foti explained that I Vigneri is not the name of a winery, but also the synthesis of the knowledge of the ancient workforce from 1435 based on the human value and respect on its territory. In fact, he has been using the traditional Alberello training system for vines on stone terraced vineyards and he said that Albarello is the most suitable for the Etna winegrowing environment based on his research. He guided us around his winery and explained the traditional Palmento system and current winemaking process which is a minimal intervention approach.
We tasted four wines which were amazingly high quality. I especially enjoyed the Caricante Milo that is made from Carricante 100% harvested in the Milo vineyard. We experienced a taste of Miro terroir and humanity. The wine had very complex aromas and flavours (flinty, wet stone, salinity, herbal, white blossom, citrus fruits), high acidity, good texture and body, balanced, intense and with a long finish. It has good ageing potential.
Da Rinuccio serves wonderful Sicilian dishes, and we enjoyed high-quality traditional cuisine with delicate, well-balanced seasoning. One dish that particularly caught our attention was a former “poor people’s cheese” called mudìca (often spelled muddìca), a breadcrumb mixture made with bread, bottarga, olive oil, and garlic, used as a cheese substitute. We tried it with pasta, and it was incredibly flavorful.
And of course, we tasted high quality wines from Giulia Monteleone, Tenuta Ballasanti and Famiglia Statella with those great dishes.
Palmento Costanzo: Gravity, Tradition, and Modern Etna Winemaking
After a great lunch, it was almost dark when we arrived at Palmento Costanzo. Valeria Agosta Costanzo and her daughter Serena and family members run the winery. Serena explained that the winery uses a gravity-flow system that uses its multi-level, restored ancient palmento (millstone press) to move grapes and juice by gravity. Modern winemaking equipment and barrels have been installed in the cellar which is not only in keeping with the landscape, but also makes use of natural light and ventilation for energy saving. We tasted eight wines, a Prefillossera 2020, a Metodo Classico sparkling, three whites, a rosato, and two reds.
Focusing on the Prefillossera, it is made from Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio both of which are made from 100-year-old vines planted in the vineyard located at 750m asl. It is ruby in color, with intense red fruits, rosemary, lavender aromas and palate, integrated tannins and a long finish, outstanding quality and long aging potential.
Passopisciaro: Contrade, Old Vines, and a Visionary Etna Expression
After Palmento Costanzo, we visited Azienda Vinicola Passopisciaro. Passopisciaro, founded 2001, has 26ha for Nerello Mascalese in different contradas which are different in terroir, lava flow, aspect and altitude. It also has 4ha for Chardonnay and 2ha for Petit Verdot and Cesanese D’Affile! Vineyards are located from 600m to 1,000m asl, and most of the planted vines are 70 to 100 years old. They produce about 100,000 bottles a year.
A wine journalist explained that Passopisciaro is located in between Linguaglossa and Randazzo, and is in the rain shadow of the Nebrodi Mountains which rise along the Alcantara Valley. This area is pastoral, ventilated, sunny with a gentle amphitheater to attain full ripeness of grapes. We tasted some wonderful wines, two Chardonnays (Passobianco 2014 and PC Contrada), five single Contrada Nerello Mascaleses (C Contrada 2009, P Contrada 2009, G Contrada 2011, S Contrada 2009, R Contrada 2009), blended from five Contradas Nerello Mascalese (Passoroso 2013) and Franchetti which is the top of the line made from Petit Verdot and Cesanese d’Affile. It is an outstanding quality wine. Although Franchetti is the opposite style of Nerello Mascalese based wines, this visionary wine should be called Super Etnean.
At the end of the day, we had a great dinner at Ristorante da Antonio. Chef Antonio Fucile creates traditional Sicilian food in a modern style. He is committed to using all organic ingredients and food stuff from Etna and the Nebrodi Mountains. We really enjoyed the pairing of foods and wines of Passopisciaro.
Our first day on Etna was a really exceptional experience. At the same time, I am very much looking forward to another eventful day tomorrow!
This was the first day of our trip to Etna. Read about our previous trips, and stay tuned for the upcoming blogs.
Learn more about the Vinitaly International Academy and listen to our guest hosts’ interviews with their favorite producers here.
