Etna: the maturity and value of Sicily’s “jewel-designation” are reflected uniformly in its wines

Harsh and generous, as black as it is bright with its own light, this is the land of Etna wine. With the volcano, “a muntagna” as the Sicilians call it, famous throughout the world for its recurring and evocative lava flows, it attracts the attention of wine lovers and vibrates with an energy that reverberates in a wine community that in just a few years has transformed and revitalized the area, thanks in part to the strong wine tourism industry, in an area that has attracted investment first from wineries in other areas of the wine-producing “mosaic” that is Sicily, and then from many other areas of Italy. A mature but constantly evolving territory, the Etna wine region, with its different slopes and over 130 districts, includes old century-old vineyards and new plantations that have recovered terraces and ancient cultivation methods, where Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio among the red varieties, and Carricante and Catarratto among the white varieties, reign supreme. The choice between white and red wines from Etna is becoming increasingly difficult: although there are obviously those among consumers, but also among producers, who prefer one of the two types, white or red (as WineNews will report in a video in the coming days, ed.), the quality of both reaches remarkable heights, with a level of goodness, quality, and definition that is widespread across the board. This is the awareness gained at the 2025 “Etna Days”, the event organized these days in Castiglione di Sicilia by the Consorzio dei Vini Etna Doc, now in its fourth edition, and dedicated to tasting the wines of its volcano and gaining in-depth knowledge of its wineries.
The quality of the wines also reflects a healthy appellation, growing in numbers and value, and in consumer perception. So much so that it has required an institutional event, which in four years has seen an increase in participation in terms of wineries, labels available for tasting, and journalists from all over the world. “Etna Days is the synthesis of our collective work: we want to showcase not only wines, but also the cultural heritage and identity that belongs to the communities of the volcano”, explains Francesco Cambria, president of the Consortium. Director Maurizio Lunetta adds: “This year, we are seeing numbers that consolidate the international dimension of Etna DOC. Our commitment for the future is to grow the volcano’s economy in an integrated way, including hospitality, catering, and typical products. With this in mind, we are also enriching our communication heritage with a mini-series of documentaries in Italian and English that will restore the authentic values of the Etna communities to the world”. With its 230 members, representing 95% of bottled wine and more than 80% of the vineyard area, the Consortium produces around 5.8 million bottles per year. Of the 230 members, 50 are producers only and 180 are bottlers, half of whom bottle for third parties, while the remaining 90 are producers and bottlers of their own grapes.
Let us now consider the figures. With 1,347 hectares claimed as DOC in 2024, Etna has reached a contemporary record for vineyard area. Certainly incomparable to the 90,000 hectares of vineyards in the province of Catania at the end of the 19th century (decimated by phylloxera and the abandonment of land between the two world wars), the current spread started from 670 hectares in 2013, which grew gradually without (almost) interruption, exceeding 1,000 in 2019 and doubling last year. At the same time, the number of member winegrowers has more than doubled (203 in 2013, 474 today), as has the amount of grapes claimed (37,336.17 quintals in 2013, 83,249.51 in 2024), and, consequently, the wine claimed, which rose from 26,135.38 hectoliters in 2013 to 58,274.20 hectoliters in 2024. Looking at the hectoliters actually bottled, however, the figure rose from 32,430.26 hectoliters in 2019 to 44,122.09 hectoliters in 2023, before falling by 11.98% in 2024 to 39,739.55 hectoliters.
Looking specifically at the different types of wine produced within the regulations over the last five years, we can see that Etna Bianco and Bianco Superiore have grown gradually since 2019 (with 9,152.59 hectoliters for the former and 404.81 hectoliters for the latter) until 2023 (with 17,083.40 hectoliters for the former and 1,270.44 hectoliters for the latter), before falling by 16.06% and 12.17% in 2024 (14,642.56 hectoliters and 1,139.54 hectoliters respectively). Etna Rosato rose from 2,581.31 hectoliters in 2019 to 3,880.61 hectoliters in 2022, before beginning to decline and reaching 1,984.02 hectoliters in 2024. The same fate befell Etna Rosso - 19,227.91 hectoliters in 2019, 23,365.31 in 2022, and then a decline to 19,807.70 hectoliters in 2024 - while Etna Rosso Riserva began to decline in production as early as 2022, after peaking at 199.28 hectoliters in 2021: today, production stands at 182.86 hectoliters (a slight recovery on 2023), compared to 153.22 in 2019. Sparkling wines, on the other hand, are growing, which is not surprising given the market demands that are well known to us: Etna Spumante Bianco rose from 651.41 hectoliters in 2019 to 1,493.96 hectoliters in 2024 (+7.9% on 2023), while Etna Spumante Rosato literally exploded in 2024 (+75.28% on 2023: from 278.94 to 488.93 hectoliters) after mixed fortunes in previous years.
To these figures, in order to better understand the positive state of health of the appellation, we can add the data from the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory regarding value and reputation, already mentioned in the monograph dedicated to Etna in the 2024 newsletter “I Quaderni di WineNews”: the economic sustainability of businesses is growing (€50 million in turnover ex-cellar, €150,000 in vineyard value per hectare, five times more than the regional average), partly due to wine tourism, which generates added value of €123 million per year for the area; This means that for every bottle consumed on the slopes of Etna, there is an overall impact on the territory of €82, 10 times more than the value of the wine at production. In short, Etna is doing well and can now be counted among the great Italian wine territories.
Like everyone else, it has to deal with the major issue of global warming, which Europe’s highest volcano faces with a certain advantage, thanks to its climate and soil characteristics. as do the slow viticulture imposed by the steep slopes of the mountain, the fragmentation of the vineyards, the dry stone walls, and the traditional bush-trained viticulture, which also preserves centuries-old, ungrafted vines: fragile, survivors, but truly very strong. A precious treasure that must be preserved and protected in every way. Fortunately, some steps taken by the Consortium are moving in this direction, demonstrating that it is a mature appellation: for example, the vineyards have been protected (to maintain the high value of its land and wines) and the process of becoming a DOCG has begun; not to mention the ferment brought about by a “tumultuous” generational change, which, as we know, is the driving force behind new visions and changes.
The style of the wines, as we said, is also maturing: with 91 participating wineries and 340 labels available for tasting at the technical tasting (including 159 reds, 119 whites, 46 rosés, and 16 sparkling wines), the 2025 “Etna Days” offers a good overview of the quality of Etna wines. Below are the best tastings by the WineNews staff, which broadly reflect the already widely confirmed macro-zonation: the north side of the volcano for the best reds, the east for the best whites, with the south and southwest still to be clearly defined and sparkling wines still (definitively?) an exercise in style or pleasant delight.