Etna
Warm Mediterranean, cooled by altitude
Vineyards on the black volcanic slopes of Europe's largest active volcano, making perfumed, structured wines that read closer to Burgundy than to the rest of Sicily.
Overview
About Etna
Vines climb Mount Etna's northern and eastern slopes to 900 metres or more, on distinct lava-flow 'contrade' (crus) that growers treat much like Burgundian climats. The red grape is Nerello Mascalese, pale, high-acid and tannic, often compared to Nebbiolo or Pinot Noir; the white is Carricante, taut and mineral.
A wave of outside investment and a return by local families from the 1990s onward transformed Etna from a source of bulk wine into one of Italy's most talked-about fine-wine zones, prized for freshness that altitude and volcanic soil bring even in a hot Sicilian summer.
Etna is marked on the map.
Italy
Shaded: Catania. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Warm Mediterranean, cooled by altitude
Hot at the base but markedly cooler with elevation; high-altitude vineyards see real day-night temperature swings, unusual for Sicily, that preserve acidity.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Black volcanic ash and lava soils, sandy and mineral-rich, varying sharply from one lava flow (contrada) to the next.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
What makes one year better than another follows from the climate here: warm mediterranean, cooled by altitude.
A great year
A warm, settled season without early-autumn rain, so late-ripening Nerello Mascalese reaches full phenolic ripeness at altitude.
A difficult year
An early autumn storm, which can hit the highest vineyards hard just before a late harvest.