A new Etna Gem
Once in a great while, a new wine category emerges that’s destined for greatness.
We’re looking at an example of this in real time with the wines of Mt. Etna in Sicily. For 2000 years, small plots on the volcano were farmed in polyculture living-garden farms interplanted with fruit trees, olives, vegetables and grapes. The difficulty of farming on the slopes of one of the world’s most active volcanoes kept wine production small and local until the Benanti family and oenologist Salvo Foti started focusing seriously on quality in the early ’90s. Then, American importer Marc di Grazia moved to Sicily and started Tenuta delle Terre Nere and brought international attention to Etna just as he did in Piedmont and Tuscany.
Now, Etna has gotten so much in demand that there’s a popular hashtag among industry insiders #donttalkaboutetna to try to keep the wines under the radar. It’s a futile effort as Etna is rapidly becoming the next Burgundy and buyers increasingly priced out of France are looking South to the Mediterranean volcano.
The comparison to Burgundy is apt as the best Etna wines are intriguing, transparent and multifaceted, reflecting the tiny, diverse micro-terroirs dotting areas around the volcano like a Georges Seurat painting. The Etna Rossos have the elegance and class of fine Pinot Noir with more power and a distinct minerality from the volcanic soils, yet with Nerello Mascalese's completely distinct flavors of that don’t quite resemble anything else.
While big marquee producers are vying to make a claim to this red-hot region, the boutique producers may have the edge, because the farming requires so much labor and finesse, it's the small producers who can maintain the focus. This is certainly the case for our new producer, Fedegraziani, who although only 8 vintages in, has already commanded the hearts and minds of Italian restaurants. His wines have already been featured at 9 of Italy's 11 3-Michelin Starred restaurants, such as Piazza Duomo, Le Calandre, Casadonna Reale, St Hubertus, and Osteria Francescana. And he is the featured Etna producer at Denmark's 3-star Michelin Geranium, named the Best Restaurant in the World in 2022.
Fede Graziani was a star sommelier in Italy who won the Italian national championship and competed on the world stage at the highest levels before setting his sights on Etna. From the get go, he insisted on doing everything to the nth degree, including acquiring vineyards with head trained ("alberello") vines, and replanting only in this traditional way, which though more difficult to farm brings more complexity to the grapes.
Graziani gained cues from Salvo Foti, who seems to have the pulse of the mountain better than perhaps anyone, and found tiny plots on the North side of Etna around the village of Passopisciaro in the contrade (think crus) of Feudo di Mezzo, Montelaguardia and Moganazzi.
For winemaking Graziani looks to Burgundy for inspiration. Indeed, he believes having a clear vision for his wine is what sets him apart from many of the other amazing producers.
Graziani makes the wines in the simplest of fashions with native yeast and no interventions. The Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio are fermented and aged in stainless steel then the wine gets a year in bottle before release. The resulting wine is fresh with surprising concentration but above all elegance with the focus being the balance between perfectly ripe fruit and the unique igneous minerality that can only be from Etna.
The wine comes in 6 packs. Please let us know if this looks like a fit for your program.