Why Etna has become hot property for the Italian wine sector

Filippo Bartolotta heads to Mount Etna to explore why this volcanic Sicilian region has become such a desirable region for winegrowers.

Marco De Grazia was one of the first outside entrepreneurs to really believe in Etna. He previously sold the wines of Val Cerasa for his De Grazia selection, which was one of the largest and most important Italian wine brokerages in the early 2000s.

After travelling back-and-forth to Sicily, he decided to purchase a property on the volcano, Tenuta delle Terre Nere. A few years after his purchase, he asked me if I wanted to buy my own palmento, an ancient cellar, with five hectares for €20,000, but as I was was still living in London I declined, but I can’t help but wonder: What would I do now if I had purchased that property?

Today, one hectare in the Etna DOC costs around €120,000 on average, and the denomination is 1,200ha, with more than 400 producers.

Etna has become not only Sicily’s most attractive region, but without any doubt one of Italy most-wanted wine areas.

The DOC is shaped like a half moon surrounding the volcano to the north, east and south.

The northern side is the coldest and rainiest (it even snows during the winter), and red varieties like Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio are the varieties behind the spicy mineral and smoky reds with a Burgundy character.

Though it still produces some delightful reds, the eastern side is mainly for white wines based on Carricante, and some Catarratto. Carricante’s roundness, acidity and structure give the wine incredible ageing potential.

The southern slopes are the spot to go for warmer red and more generous whites.

The paramount factor in the DOC is altitude. Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe, reaching more than 3,300 metres above sea level – even in summer, near the summit it can feel very cool, and in the winter it is possible to ski there. The DOC only permits the cultivation of vines up to 1,000masl.

Like all volcanoes, Etna constantly regenerates itself. Its eruptions, which occur regularly, bring a huge variety of different types of soils, from those which are sandier in texture to rockier ones. The drainage of these soils results in very healthy grapes, in spite of the abundant rainfall. The Alcantara river also provides some clay, creating a natural boundary between the black and white soils.

At the end of the 19th century, the region was providing wines for many French and northern Italian wine areas which could no longer produce due to phylloxera. The railway system which connects mountain to the harbour of Riposto is a reminder of this wine trade.

At one point, there were 40,000ha of vineyards, and the old abandoned vine terraces are a sign of this quantity-oriented production.

Today, with the arrival of new investors to the DOC, Etna has grown into a more quality-focused wine paradise.

“In the last three years the number of young entrepreneurs coming here has grown of 55%,” said Consorzio Etna DOC director Maurizio Lunetta. “These young producers have started to cultivate the vines of their grandfathers. They represent a jump of one generation and now these beautiful old vines – some are 200-years-old – as well as some of the new vines represent, an incredible success for the new generations that can actually can make a living in the island instead of going abroad.”

One remarkable example of young entrepreneurship is that of Monteleone starting from scratch.

“Our project, of wine and of life, took shape in July 2017 when, after a long search, we identified two hectares of old vineyard a few steps from the Alcantara river very close to the ancient Cuba of Santa Domenica, a Byzantine jewel of rare and intact beauty, where our two Etna Rosso DOC wines are born from Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio grapes,” explained Giulia Monteleone. “Over the years we have invested mainly in the fascinating eastern side, where, since 2018, we have been producing our Etna Bianco DOC, in the territories of Milo and Sant’Alfio, a tangible sign of our working philosophy that respects tradition and those who have made Etna’s oenological history, but with a constant eye on the future, precisely because ours is a history in the making, where the best thing is that more is still to be done.”

We must not forget though the importance of those who have been living and producing wine on the volcano since way before Etna became fashionable: Benanti, Barone di Villagrande, Salvo Foti, and so on.

In 2027, the Barone di Villagrande winery will celebrate its 300th anniversary. Three centuries in which wine has always been produced, while bottling dates back to the 1940s.

Marco Nicolosi, 44, part of the tenth generations, carries this responsibility with him: “When I was a boy, it could have been a burden and the fear of not being up to it was there. Today, with 20 years of vintages behind me, my main motivation for doing this job with the right energy is to make a wine that is an expression of who makes it, as well as of a place. Personally, I cannot visualise an activity other than the one I do, nor a different place to do it”.

Last but not least the investments of the famous Sicilian wine families like Donnafugata, Duca di Salaparuta, Planeta and Tasca on the volcano has contributed to some seriously solid foundations of this amazing DOC.

Alberto Tasca D’Almerita, managing director of Tasca D’Almerita, shared: “It all started in 2004 when my brother Giuseppe, an incomparable visionary, initiated a research and study project on the Etnean territory, which led to the first vinification in 2007, taking more and more shape with the purchase of the first vineyards in Contrada Sciaranuova and Pianodario, and later in Contrada Rampante and Grasà in 2015. Our project continues to be to find a virtuous meeting point between the heritage of tradition and the use of innovative techniques, with absolute respect for the identity of the place.”

The presence of such strong families has over time helped to create a strong brand and a prospect of courage and confidence for young young entrepreneurs.

The president of the DOC, Francesco Cambria, is intent on taking the appellation to DOCG status. The process has started and will take a few years, but the road ahead toward the highest quality trademark is set.

The wines

The Etna Days event is effectively an en primeur event, which gives journalists from across the world the opportunity to taste a few hundred wines over three days.

Having tasted through a selection, my feeling is that although this DOC is mainly famous for the red wines, with an elegance reminiscent of Pinot Noir’s, Sangiovese-like acidity, as well as a Nebbiolo depth and structure, the white wines are actually showing a more homogenous quality across the board.

The reds of Mount Etna can actually be some of the most complex and intriguing red wines of Italy, but there are still a few wines that are either too light or showing the presence of too much oak. The white wines are manifesting an extremely expressive mineral, smoky Mediterranean character of this incredible ancient volcano.

So what about the rosé wines? Unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to taste the rosé during the technical tasting but only while visiting some wineries along the wine tours. Pista e Mutta which would literally translate to “press and rack”, getting the free run juice not to be in touch with the skin, is an old term to describe the rosé wines of Etna. I do feel that this volcano might express its true character with a delightfully mineral, crunchy, and yet structured rosé.

Etna Bianco

Ciro Biondi Chianta Etna Bianco 2021

Super flinty, extractive, but elegant, generous and structured with some salted almonds, grapefruit, camomile and citrus.

Barone di Villagrande Etna Bianco Superiore Contrada di Villagrande 2021

One of the most convincing samples. I love the purity of this wine such a high level of well defined clean fruit like green lemons, candied ginger and a more complex flinty nose with a very elongated creamy finish.

Benanti Viticoltori Contrada Cavaliere Bianco Etna Bianco 2022

Tropical fruit, gunpowder, creamy white fruit and a great mineral tension on the palate with an important ageing potential.

Donnafugata Sul Vulcano Etna Bianco 2021

A crunchy and citrus-driven style white. Refreshing palate, with some savoury notes combined with a distinctive tangerine flavour.

Graci Etna Bianco Muganazzi 2022

Ripe white fruit, immediately hiding behind a reserved smokey and mineral nose. Then is all about the almonds, walnuts and some white truffles. The palate is juicy, saline and with an unstoppable energy.

I custodi delle vigne dell’Etna Imbrius Etna Bianco Superiore 2020

Northern balsamic hints with almond flowers, tea tree oil, mint and hibiscus. Powerful palate with an austere finish, needs time.

Maugeri, Etna Bianco Superiore Contrada Volpare Frontemare 2023

Very fruity and extremely talkative for such a young wine. The nose becomes intriguingly herbaceous, with some truly refreshing and zippy citrus finish.

Monteleone Etna Bianco Monteleone 2023

Almonds, sweet tropical fruit, lemon and orange zest with a great salinity and a sea breeze finish. This wine is so young and yet so vibrant and complex. Great integrity of the fruit and a serious aging potential.

Murgo Etna Bianco 2023

Floral with a distinctive orange blossom touch. Really reactive palate with an enlivening, vibrant acidity juiciness and a very lingering citrus finish with a super clean guava fruit flavour.

Pietradolce Etna Bianco Archineri 2022

Very sweet tropical fruit with a powerful structure and a joyful creamy finish.

Planeta Etna Bianco Contrada Taccione 2022

Pencil shavings, hibiscus, peppery and zesty. Sweet palate. ripe white and yellow fruit, honey dew melon, green papaya, lemon zest. Clean, vibrant and very well crafted white with a lovely medical herbs and balsamic touch.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco Doc Santo Spirito 2023

What an amazing mineral wine with so much juiciness, salinity, refreshing acidity and balsamic

Tenuta di Fessina, Il Musumeci Etna Bianco Superiore 2022

This is all about the citrus, a refreshing juicy and pure citrus complexity. The essential oils of lemons and bergamotto bring this wine to an extra dimension of purity and elegance. Zest, power and length. An uncompromising Etna white.

Vivera Etna Bianco 2023

Restrained mineral and chalky Etna Bianco with so much white fruit presence, hints of almond flowers and lemon leaves. Structured palate and well-defined fruit extraction.

Etna Rosso

Ciro Biondi Cisterna Fuori Etna Rosso 2020

Orange, crushed red berries, crunchy redcurrant, sweet roots, refreshing, balsamic. A little raw now, needs time to unveil its potential.

Az. Agricola Frank Cornelissen Munjebel 2021

Awesome red berries, dried fruit, sweet salinity and juicy pomegranate fruit blended with mediterranean herbs, bayleaf, soy sauce and cumin. A wonderfully vibrant and complex Etna where the smokey and graphite notes are integrated with pure red fruit and a Japanese katana-like acidity.

Donnafugata Fragore, Contrada Montelaguardia 2020

Vibrant small red fruit driven wine with some underbrush, mediterranean herbs, blood orange comity and a lovey sour cherry and violet finish.

Federico Curtaz Il Purgatorio 2020

If you had to choose a benchmark wine to express this vintage, this is it. A perfect balance between the small red fruit, the black pepper and smoky character of Nerello Mascalese which develops on the plate with a saline vein packed with quinine, sweet roots and bergamot.

Federico Graziani Profumo di Vulcano 2021

Red berries, tangerine, rosemary and orange peel. The palate is very generous with a umeboshi savory and sweet balance which takes the juiciness all the way to the end with a tobacco and light black chocolate gran finale.

Passopisciaro, Passorosso Etna Rosso 2022

Truly volcanic with an open friendly fruit character combining with traces of mountain flowers, rhubarb, sour cherries, sweet spices and one of the highest drinkability rate of all Etna wines. Easy to drink but complex at once like only great fine wines can.

Tasca, Tenuta Tascante, Sciaranuova 2020

Balsamic nose with wild fennel, bay leaf, myrtle and sage over a great deal of red crunch fruit. This Etna has a clear mouthful of red blood orange, orange peel and orange flowers mixing with sour cherries and a smokey finish. Easy but complex at once.

Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso ‘A Rina 2022

Mediterranean herbs, black and red fruit are combining together releasing a very complex wine. Lovely mixture of blood orange, sour cherries and a smokey saline trait give this wine a wonderful elegant trait as well as a natural energy.

I Custodi Saeculare 2015

Sweet and refreshing with a great juiciness. Lemon and orange zest, smoky sweet roots and sweet red fruit. Rustic and yet smooth with redcurrants and pomegranate.

Monteleone Rumex Etna Rosso

Powerful and elegant Etna which doesn’t hide its ambition to be notice in the group, and yet it becomes shy and restrained immediately after. It’s all about the red mouton flowers, fruit together with some darker tobacco and earthy notes of the volcano. A wine to watch to see its development in terms of aging potential.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna DOC 20 anniversario

Sweet strawberries, crunchy and reactive red currants with a creamier and more refined structure, then it seems at the beginning. This is another example of how Etna manages to become approachable without losing depth, complexity and length.

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