Gaja invests in Etna project

One of Italy’s foremost producers, Angelo Gaja, has announced he is investing in a vineyard on Mount Etna with a leading local producer.

At the end of last week the news emerged that Gaja was partnering with Alberto Graci on a joint project in Biancavilla on the southwest face of the Sicilian volcano.

As reported by Italian journal ‘Cronache di Gusto’, the two producers have reportedly bought 21 hectares of land together, 15ha of which are already planted with native varieties Carricante and Nerello Mascalese, particularly the latter.

The pair will also plant another 10 acres in due course as well as build a new winery.

Speaking to the journal, Gaja said he had had a “feeling under the skin” about Etna for some time and that descriptions of the place fascinated him but he admitted: “I did not have the skills or the knowledge to go to Etna. I am willing to go because I’ve met Alberto Graci. I have a feeling common with him, that he is a craftsman of the first order.”

Graci himself said the venture was born out of “curiosity” – to produce wine in Biancavilla an area of Etna that produced some highly awarded wines in the 19^th century – and that he was excited to be working alongside a “great master” like Gaja.