ETNA IS NOT A TREND BUT A REAL TERROIR, HOLDING ITS OWN WITH THE GREATEST. ITS CHARACTERISTICS SAY SO, ATTILIO SCIENZA AND THE MOST IMPORTANT PRODUCERS IN THE AREA ARE CONVINCED. FOCUS: SICILIAN WINE...

There is something new in the Italian wine world: it has always been there, but only “potentially”. It is not simply something new to add to the enormous reservoir of the Italian wine world, but presents itself as a true point of reference not only for the region of Sicily, which is already a continent of wine, but for all of Italy's fine wines. Etna, rightfully so, is among the five / six areas that are the symbol of Italy in the bottle. What is "terroir", the notorious and much abused French concept, which however, is able to determine the strength of a winemaking territory? It is simply the harmonious interplay of vineyards, geo-morphological conditions, climate and man. Well, Etna seems to consistently meet all these characteristics. We already knew it, but now it can be proven on a scientific basis. "The first thing that makes it a real territory”, explains Attilio Scienza, one of the greatest viticulture scholars in the world, “is the soil and climate factor. Etna’s characteristics are much closer to the Alps than to the Mediterranean. The soil is the result of several volcanic eruptions, which over time have produced very different geological matrices. Its soil has no counterpart in Italy and produces highly original wines. The second”, continues the University of Milan Professor, “is the wine culture of Etna. When phylloxera decimated vineyards in France, Sicily was the most productive wine region in the world and many of the vineyards grew on the slopes of the volcano. Etna has an ancient tradition of winemaking with a peculiarity: the conservation of many varieties of ancient cultivation, now recovered, which in this environment were protected from phylloxera. There is abundant evidence in the many not grafted vineyards that still produce grapes. The third factor is the charm of the volcano that many of the best farms in Sicily and elsewhere have perceived is the place to invest, and have invested here, realizing its "uniqueness" not only for quality but also for image".

 There's more. Etna is one of the few wine producing areas in Italy that has completed its zoning. "The zoning of Etna”, continues Scienza who, together with the Region of Sicily and the University of Milan, headed the project, “is now completed in the study stage. Now we must go to the application stage, which means building models to offer growers, so they can know which rootstocks and clones to plant, what kind of fertilizer to use and which sixth plantings to adopt so that this particular variety is developed to its best. "Etna, which is a recognized denomination since 1968, currently has an area of 440 hectares and produces over 1 million bottles. The farms are divided between Alberello (35%) and Controspalleria (65%). The production area is a kind of "half moon" that surrounds the volcano's slopes from north to south and the vineyards are planted between 400 and 1000 meters above sea level. The red grape, Nerello Mascalese dominates the cultivated varieties, followed by the white grape Carricante. But there are also antique varieties such as Nerello Cappuccio, Minnella red and white, Prunesta, Visparola, Muscadetta, Bianchetta, Muscat red and Catarratto. The Sicilian DOC has all the features to embark on a "classic" and at the same time innovative route, far from models of the so-called New World wine, to enhance its environmental and human wealth, its diversity, with original products, capable of retrieving a 'stylistic identity and giving back meaning to the word typical. 
 It is a "real landmark in the winemaking world, something unique”, Scienza continues, “because we're talking about an area that evokes a whole series of important messages, which are used to describe a wine and make it more palatable, starting from the energy that volcanic soil emanates and inevitably attracts everyone’s curiosity. Furthermore, Etna is a land where there is a deep sense of history”, said the Professor, “that extra "something" that cannot be and never will be found in South Africa or Australia. And this is also why the Etna area is unique and cannot be reproduced elsewhere”.




Focus - Why is Etna a unique area? The producers explain...

"Etna has”, explains Alberto Aiello Graci of the Graci company, “an incredible climate: it is Mediterranean and mountainous at the same time. For wine this means one part sunshine and the other extreme elegance. It has two extraordinary vineyards - Nerello Mascalese and Carricante- that produce structured, complex, long-lived as well as drinkable and dynamic wines. It is not a fashionable location”, Aiello concludes, “but rather reflects the identity of people who have wanted to pursue their winemaking projects”. “The terroir of Etna is unique, there is no doubt about that”, says Giuseppe Benanti, “it is a sort of archipelago on the island, where the variability of the climate and exposure are very different and give equally different products; therefore, there are no competitors, only colleagues. It's certainly an area that can lead and indeed, currently, it is the driving force for all the other producers in Sicily. "There is incredible contrast here”, Federico Curtaz explains (Tenuta di Fessina). In an almost African climate, there is a mountain, the volcano that suddenly brings us a thousand miles farther north. We have incredible light in the vineyards on its slopes, mountain soil and typically Mediterranean vines. This contrast gives an extraordinary uniqueness, along with the volcanic soil and paradox within the paradox, one of Italy's highest rainfalls. Then there's the volcano” Curtaz concludes, “which is like a commanding personality that makes itself heard without words and decides where to or not to plant the vines”. "Etna is simply an amazing area”, says Marco Nicolosi Asmundo of Baron Villagrande, a historical company in Etna, “its areas are different due to the different eruptive ages that make up the land.

Etna is a territory where the sun of Sicily meets the mountain climate and abundant rainfall. The Carricante grape, which basically is cultivated only on Etna and the Nerello Mascalese are two extraordinary vineyards. But the wines benefit also from the contribution of at least 150 different minor grape varieties that help make these wines unique. And then there is a profound and ancient history of wine”. "We arrived in Etna eight years ago”, says Alberto Tasca d'Almerita, of the famous Sicilian brand. “It was a slow road, made of many small details in a terroir that literally struck us like a lightning bolt. It's a small area but at the same time great, where”, he concludes, “there are small, but great producers”.