It is an experience to travel to and visit the vineyards of Etna. The volcano Etna in itself is spectacular, especially if you are lucky enough to be here on a clear day.
In the vineyards on the slopes of Etna, Sicily, copyright BKWine Photography
Etna is one of many wine regions on the island of Sicily and the main grape planted here is nerello mascalese. The wines made from this grape are often very pleasant. Quite light bodied actually for a wine coming from hot Sicily. One might imagine it to be heavy and full-bodied wines.
The other day we had a nerello mascalese at home. Tasted blind it was certainly a surprise: quite light with a very refreshing fruit, quite high acidity, red rather than black berries, lightish colour. Almost made you think of a Burgundy. Not what you would expect from a wine made almost in Africa. Delicious and interesting!
But Etna has a very particular micro-climate. The aromas are often intense and concentrated thanks to the low yielding and hard working albarello vines (gobelet style pruning), struggling to survive in the black lava soil. It is a difficult region to make wine in but it is worth it, says the wine maker at Tenuta di Passopisciaro.
Etna is becoming more and more popular among ambitious wine makers in Italy who want to make wine with character and personality. It is actually becoming quite a trendy region and a lot of investments are made here also from people coming from other pars of Italy.
The black soil on the slopes of Etna on Sicily, copyright BKWine Photography
The winemaker taking a tank sample of Etna wine, copyright BKWine Photography
A vine struggling in the poor soil on the Etna slopes, Sicily, copyright BKWine Photography
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