Etna and the new icons of Italian wine.

I just returned from my trip to Sicily and the Etna region, organized by Vinitaly International. 

The trip was splendidly organized, kudos to Stevie Kim, Manuela Clarizia and Cristina Regi for the great planning. 

I want to elaborate about the four predominant lessons that I learned during this trip, the four points that are key to understand the Etna, Rosso and Bianco.

History - A thin man who cast a gigantic shadow. 

Remarkably, the Etna Region is perhaps the fifth most well known wine region of Italy and the fourth most sought after. If Barolo, Brunello and Amarone are still the top wines, Etna Rosso comes fourth in my store as the most desired Italian wine. 

It’s extraordinary that the region so famous is only 20 years old! 

Our trip started by meeting the originator, the legend/father of the the Etna Rosso and Bianco. 

We visited Salvo Foti in his vineyard and his cellar, “I Vigneri”. Slim, agile, still young looking, attentive and very courteous, he is the whisperer who observed and understood nature around him and interpreted it. 

He gave Carricante and Nerello Mascalese their voice. And, from the terraces near Milo, his Carricante found a world-wide stage from which it sang with a penetrating voice that filled every wine lover with passion and flavors. 

But Salvo’s greatness was not just to understand the best way to cultivate his vines, but to teach everyone else his methods, explain what he had observed, to adopt all the other winemakers without jealousy or a sense of competition. 

I was in front of him, chatting with him and his son, unaware that, if Salvo would have chosen a different career, the entire wine region of Etna today probably would not exist. He’s thin man who cast a gigantic shadow on the slopes of Mt. Etna. 

Age-worthiness - The perfect grapes for it. 

That same evening we were invited by Mario Paoluzi, to dine and taste his wines, I Custodi. 

To give you a sense of the quality of his wines - before dinner we had to go to his vineyard to hug (literally, I did it!) some of his 200 years old vines. 

Call me very fortunate! Paolo offered us a vertical tasting of his white wine ANTE, all made with Carricante from the eastern slope of Etna, a vertical with 2019, 2016, 2011 and 2009 vintages.  

The 2019 drinks sharp, laser etched with beautiful fresh white flowers, lemon and lime notes. Ok, great wine but … the 2016 sits you as comfortable as the plush chair of a sport car ready to take you away. It’s integrated, extra perfume, plenty of tertiary notes. A complex wine, mature expression, great integrity. 

Then, when we said that it couldn’t get better, the two superstars of the evening landed in our glasses. The 2011 is a meditation wine, is like holding the book of your favorite storyteller. The depth of the notes, beautifully interlaced, revealed an age-ability that I seldom see, OK, Carricante wins the proof of time.

The 2009 brought a Burgundian mood to the table. Broad, a hint of butterscotch, capable of carry an array of dishes, was as good as it was surprising. And we couldn’t choose one overwhelming winner of the night. 

We also tasted the reds, a magnificent expression of Nerello Cappuccio that showed the skills, both in the vineyard and in the wine making, that made that wine description as “the way you should read in a wine book” and the stellar 2012 Nerello Mascalese from 200 years old vines. Yes, we understood that Etna wine can be stunning the finest connoisseurs. 

Terroir - When it is explained best 

We visited another cult producer, Franchetti, Passopisciaro. That name is as big as a thunder in the wine world. 

We were received by Vincenzo Lo Mauro, the winemaker, who - under the beautiful sun of a Sicilian morning - gave us the most invaluable lessons. 

Passopisciaro has five different vineyards where they grow Nerello Mascalese. The five vineyards are on the north face of Mt. Etna. I wouldn’t say that you could easily walk from the first to the last but they are certainly at a “bicycle distance” (especially for my friend Marc) 

The vineyard at the lowest altitude sits at 550 mts. (1,800 ft) and the soil is calcareous limestone covered with a very thin layer of lava, like a light blanket right on top. 

The second vineyard sits at 650 mts. (2,100 ft) of altitude, a river passed on it in the past and the soils is a variety of different quartz, rocks, lava, pebbles.

The third vineyard sits at 800 mts. (2,600 ft.) and the soil is all made of pyroclastic ashes. 

Fourth vineyard, so close to the last one, is at 850 mts. (2,800 ft.) and the ground is the lava that erupted in 1614  

Last but not least, the fifth vineyard sits at 1,000 mts. (3,300 ft.) there the lava became the size of coffee beans, almost sand. 

The wines from each vineyard are made exactly in the same ways and they are bottled separately.  

We had the pleasure to taste the wines next to one another, all amazing, five sons with five different personalities and no one can choose a favorite son. 

Competitiveness - the blind challenge

Our group participated at the three days Taormina Gourmet, a fantastic event hosted in the beautiful Sicilian town.

Gabriele Gorelli, MW,  together with Daniele Cernilli held a masterclass in which we were all asked to be participants. The challenge was to blind taste and identify 12 pours, four Barolo’s, four Brunello di Montalcino and four Etna Rosso. The vintage was the same for all wines, 2016. 

I was impressed to see how similar, in quality and in profile (thank you to a delicate vintage, the 2016) the three grapes are. I think that everyone was tricked, Barolo and Etna Rosso can be confused quite easily. 

I first called them without tasting the wines, only the nose, and I guessed eight out of twelve, but it was extremely difficult to call them. 

What a better testament to the quality that Etna Rosso reached in just 20 years of the most promising career as one of the greatest, most iconic wines of Italy.

Tenuta Franchetti 

Stevie Kim can be very dangerous at times!

Thank you for the ride!

The great giant, Mt. Etna