The heroic and traditional Viticulture on Etna
A ’ Muntagna", (the mountain as we call the Vulcano), has always been considered a generous grandmother who makes herself respected, in the eyes of the beholder one perceives wonder, admiration and at the same time restlessness, when one realizes how much energy it holds.
Unesco World Heritage, it is the highest active volcano in Europe. From here many civilizations have passed that marvel at the beauty and the generosity of these lands, they settled there contributing to create a variegated cultural heritage still present today.
I n the past it was one of the most appreciated wine-growing areas in all Europe, so much that it recorded the first "Maestranza" aimed at teaching an effective method of cultivation, refined over time, which is still handed down today.
This territory today represents a point of reference for the great potential that its wines can express.
Thanks to different altitudes, different exposures and different lava flows, every producer on Etna has the possibility to offer a unique wine.
Contrade - Cru
C onrada Salto del Corvo/San Giovannello,650 m.a.l.s., we are in the municipality of Viagrande at the crossroads where Trecastagni and Zafferana Etna meet. Our adventure has begun in this small piece of land. It was love at first sight, a small clos with dry wall terraces and ancient streets handmaded in lava stone (Unesco Heritage). The vineyard is surrounded by two inactive volcanic cones: Monte Ilice and Monte Gorna, and gives a view that opens onto the Ionian Sea, impossible not to fall in love with it!
C arpene, is located in the Etna National Park in the municipality of Trecastagni, at 800 m.a.l.s. The steep slope makes it an extreme and tiring vineyard to work but that from its top gives an idyllic view that pays off for all efforts. From here the ever-present, Monte and Gorna and Monte Ilice frame the sea.
Here you find a small jewel of this land, an eighteenth century Palmento that is an ancient building where wine was made.Our project is to recover this building and recreate the poetry of the traditional wine making now in danger of extinction.
Soil & Climate
S oil of Etna is one of the most important element here and ensures that all cultivar grown here are most valuable.
Vines in volcanic sandy soils find mineral and microbiotic elements useful for their development, besides being very draining the water does not stagnate on the surface ending up in depth, so the vine is forced in turn to go deep with its roots.
The climate on Etna is different from the rest of Sicily, indeed here there are the lowest temperatures recorded, both in winter and in summer.
Very important peculiarity is that different exposures and different heights of the vineyards makes Etnea rich of microclimates influencing the characteristics of the wines
Our vineyards are located on the south-east slop of the Volcano, between 650 and 800 meters above sea level, a height that allows a high thermal excursion, very positive because it determines a high concentration of aromatic substances in grapes skins.
The proximity to the sea positively affects the vineyard because the salty air of the sea give sapidity and the wind help drying the grapes when it rains. Weather is also affected making the east slope of the Volcano the rainiest and the coldest in Sicily.