📍 Etna

Etna is an active volcano in eastern Sicily and the highest active volcano in Europe. Vineyards surround the mountain on the east, north and south and climb from 450 to 1,100 metres and beyond. It is one of the most mountainous wine zones of Italy: days are warm, nights cold, and the soil is black volcanic sand and ash built up from lava of different centuries.

The Etna DOC was created in 1968 and was the first in Sicily. Red wines (Etna Rosso) are made from Nerello Mascalese, often with Nerello Cappuccio. They are pale in colour, high in acidity, with scents of red berries and smoke, which is why they are compared with Burgundy and Barolo. Whites (Etna Bianco) are based on Carricante, giving a fresh wine with minerality and citrus. Rosé and sparkling wines are also made.

The vines are old, often individual bush vines on narrow terraces. Estates divide the land into “contrade”, plots marked by lava flows from different eruptions.

For comparison with its neighbours: west of Etna lies the rest of Sicily, hotter and with more wines from Catarratto and Nero d'Avola, and across the strait on the mainland, Calabria.