Winemaker Notes
Pale straw yellow with intense greenish reflections on the eye; pleasant hints of green apple, grapefruit, white peach and aromatic herbs mark the nose of this wine, which shows its true identity on the palate with a very pleasant savoriness and freshness complemented by an extraordinary minerality; exclusive notes that invite the second glass.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Fragrant with warm spice, graphite and jasmine notes, this shows a creamy plumpness on the palate that's trimmed well by rapierlike acidity. Flavors of Anjou pear, tangerine, almond skin and saffron expand through the racy, mineral-driven finish. Drink now through 2034.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Pouring a medium yellow hue, the 2024 Etna Bianco is fresh and herbaceous with notes of fennel, fresh sage, pear, green melon, and wet stones. Medium-bodied, it’s produced in stainless steel tank and rests in cement tank right before bottling. It's approachable, with hints of honeycomb, fresh saltiness, and ripe peachy fruit through the finish. It's a stellar value with a great sense of place that screams of summer.
Carricante has grown on the slopes of Sicily’s Mt. Etna for the last thousand years. It is the dominant grape in Etna Bianco DOC blends, with Catarratto as a possible minor blending partner. The best examples come from volcanic soils at higher altitudes where a large diurnal temperature shift allows slow and steady ripening and the development of Carricante’s naturally high acidity. Somm Secret—A vine variety capable of high yields if not tended to properly, Carricante gets its name from, carica, the Italian word for “load.”
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.