Winemaker Notes
Aromas of lemon peel, white pears, flint, oyster shells, and dried herbs. Medium-bodied with a fresh and saline palate. Crisp, mineral, and lemony finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Vivid and delicious, this has plenty of sliced apples and pears, white flowers and hints of salt and minerals. Medium- to full-bodied, it has balanced fruit, touches of flint and a pretty finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Showing a luminous appearance with a greenish edge that is typical of Carricante, the Graci 2023 Etna Bianco is crisp, linear and beautifully citrusy with white melon and crushed stone. This is the entry-level white from Etna, but it is fabulous nonetheless. In a vintage like 2023 that had its challenges, this wine remains tonic, fresh and full of energy.
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Vinous
The 2023 Etna Bianco entices with a remarkably pretty bouquet that blends lemon oil with sweet herbs and nectarines. This is texturally deep with contrasts of ripe orchard fruits and salty minerals, all excited by juicy acidity. It finishes fresh with outstanding length and a lingering citrus tinge. The 2023 provides incredible value.
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Wine Spectator
Well-cut and chalky, this vibrant white offers a burst of crunchy pear and yellow peach fruit, with chamomile, crushed almond and mandarin orange peel accents. Shows nice length on the minerally finish. Carricante and Catarratto. Drink now through 2033. 3,000 cases made, 550 cases imported.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.