Baglio di Pianetto arrives on Etna: here are the “Fermata 125” wines, dedicated to the Circumetnea

There are some wines that tell the story of their terroir precisely in the glass. And others that go even further, telling the story of the territory, and not only the history of wine. Such as, for example, a historic railway in Italy and Sicily, the Circumetnea, inaugurated in 1895, which connects Catania with Riposto, circling Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, which has become the symbol of great Sicilian wine. This is where Baglio di Pianetto, the winery commissioned by Count Paolo Marzotto, now arrives. After the high hills of the Monreale area, just a few kilometers from Palermo, and the luminous territory close to the sea, between Noto and Pachino, where the two historic Baglio di Pianetto estates (Tenuta Pianetto and Tenuta Baroni) are located, has arrived on the northern slope of the volcano, from where “Fermata 125” was born, a line of two wines, an Etna Bianco (from Carricante in purity, and cultivated in an organic way) and an Etna Rosso (from Nerello Mascalese in purity), destined only for the horeca channel, whose name derives from the homonymous stop of the Cirumetnea, in Passopisciaro.
Not a random stop, the 125, because it is the one right in front of Cantine Valenti, a partner in this project for the winery led by president Dominique Marzotto and managing director Francesco Tiralongo (in a collaboration that does not involve joint ventures or rentals, but the entrusting of the vineyards, - 3 hectares of Nerello Mascalese and 3 hectares of Carricante - and the use of the Valenti winery by Baglio di Pianetto).
“The project starts from the fact that our identity is deeply linked to that of Sicily”, explains CEO Francesco Tiralongo to WineNews, “and that we want to grow by linking ourselves not to an increasingly delimited area, but to more territories. It's no coincidence that we have one estate in the hills and one at sea level, and we want to identify ourselves more with Sicily, known for Nero d’Avola, certainly, for Grillo, but also for Etna, which is now its most famous appellation. And we decided to make pure wines to best interpret Etna with our own style. And although the first bottles we are launching this year are the result of work that has already begun at Cantine Valenti, and therefore not 100% ours alone, as will be the case from now on, those who have tasted the wines have told us that we can already feel a different imprint. And this project on Etna is also a way for us to present ourselves in a different way on a market that for us is made up of 50% in Sicily, 30% abroad and only 20% in the rest of Italy”.
It’s a niche production, because at the moment we’re talking about 13,000 bottles of white and 13,000 of red, “and maybe tomorrow,” Tiralongo adds, “we could reach 30,000 if we take the opportunity to make a “contrada” wine, but we’ll see. For now we are satisfied with these new wines, but we want to improve further”. And speaking of wines that tell stories, the little train on the label represents the first car that ran on the historic Circumetnea line, known as the “littorina”, a name that still survives today to indicate the trains of the Circumetnea Railway. “Even on the image we wanted to make a different choice from many. In general, most Etna Doc labels in some way also visually recall the volcano, and so we looked for something that would symbolize the territory in a different way. And we chose the Circumetnea because it’s a railway that, especially since the 1930s, has moved practically everyone who lives in the area”.
“Expanding our assortment with two new pure wines that interpret our style of Carricante and Nerello Mascalese, the two main indigenous grapes grown on the volcano, was something we had been wanting for some time and have now managed to achieve. The municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia, and in particular the hamlet of Passopisciaro, is one of the most historic areas of Etna, particularly suited to viticulture”, continues Francesco Tiralongo, “and here we found the partner we were looking for, with whom we share first and foremost a sustainable approach to the countryside. We immediately found ourselves in great harmony, with a written agreement, of course”, explains the CEO of Baglio di Pianetto to WineNews, “but one that is very much like the old handshake: the vineyards and the winery will be run in close collaboration with our company team, which will be present and will supervise all the production phases”.
An operation that began months ago and is now bearing its first fruits with the two labels just launched. “The northern slope of the volcano has an ideal climate, protected by the Peloritani and Nebrodi mountain ranges and characterized by large temperature differences between night and day. It is the home of the Nerello Mascalese, but also and above all of the Carricante in the light of market demands, which has won a leading place and is convincing for its great quality. To be able to complete our range with two Etna Doc wines that represent us is not only a dream come true but also a winning move from a commercial point of view”.