When I check in online for my flight to Catania, I decide to choose a window seat, on the side from which I suspect I can see her. And I have chosen well: it is a beautiful day and she is very impressive, Mount Etna. White clouds drift around the summit, and the contours of the mountain are silhouetted sharply against a very blue sky.
An hour after this first meeting, I am in the company of a group of international wine bloggers, on our way to the first winery. My neck twists and turns in strange positions, just to catch a glimpse of the active volcano. And so it will remain for the whole trip: three-and-a-half day long Etna is always present. We climb and toast it, make pictures, look up from the vineyards countless times a day and discuss its good and dangerous sides. For, on the eastern side of Sicily, Etna governs life: she is the supplier of fertile soils and prosperity, but also the extremely dangerous and unpredictable bringer of doom. Every year, eruptions of ash and small stones cover the vineyards with a new layer of soil. The winegrowers here speak of ‘a Muntagna, in awe and respect.
Vineyards on La Muntagna
Working the vineyards on the black, gritty volcanic soils of the Mountain has for centuries been a very specialized job. The work comes with countless traditions and peculiarities. The alberello-style of training and pruning is one of them; the presence of very old vines, some over 100 years old, another. At one time, we stand eye to grape with a plant of 225 years old, still bearing fruit!
Many vines here grow like bushes: no guiding of shoots along a wire in lateral direction, but stumps with three to four shoots from about the same point on the ground which are guided vertically along a chestnut wooden pole. The reason for this way of training and pruning is to ensure that the grapes are hanging low to the ground, to catch the warmth of the soil at night. At altitudes of 600 up to 1200 meters this is no luxury! Many of the vines are not on American rootstock and are ungrafted. All over the world, grafting of grapevines is done to protect against the dreaded grape-louse, phylloxera. This harmful creature does not like the sandy and volcanic soils of Etna, though!
Abandoned plots
The old vines are usually on difficult to reach land, high on the slopes. In the course of the twentieth century, many plots were left untended by the owners; old vines simply do not produce enough grape clusters for the bulk wine production characteristic of post -World War II Sicily.
But in the last decades, a generation of winemakers has grown up who does things differently. For them, the elderly plants represent the true potential of Etna: old vines often produce highly concentrated, powerful wines. During our trip we therefor encounter several wineries who own at least half an hectare, but sometimes less.
One of the first persons to grasp the importance of old vines on ‘a Muntagna was Salvo Foti, an internationally renowned oenologist and advocate of ‘natural’ wines. For many here he works as a consultant, e.g. the young Chiara Vigo, who recently took over from her mother on Fattorie del Castello Romeo.
Winemakers Guild I Vigneri
Together with a handful of other local producers Foti blew new life into a winemakers guild dating from 1435, I Vigneri. The members own and work several small vineyard plots together, spread out on the slopes of the volcano, often at considerable heights. They also call themselves I Custodi, the guardians. Central to the winemakers guild are the people, the men who spend their lives with, and on, ‘a Muntagna, guarding traditions, techniques and knowledge and passing these on from father to son, from master to apprentice. Of course, the vineyards are worked with manpower only, though sometimes a donkey does the real hard work.
We visit one of those plots: Vigna Bosco, beautifully situated at 1200 meters altitude, with a stunning view of the summit of Mount Etna. Before we arrive at the vineyard, we first walk a short distance through a mysterious forest of holm oaks, strongly reminiscent of olive trees. Pink wild cyclamen are growing everywhere along the path. Then we arrive at a field with vines, several over 100-year-old, white and red grapes mixed together. For red there is the alicante, a local synonym for grenache, for white a mix of local grapes such as minella, with its breast-shaped grapes, and carricante, the main white variety on Etna.
All grapes will be harvested simultaneously in a few weeks (it is 20 September when we visit). Red and white are then pressed together onto the premises; nothing is added to the must. No yeast, no sulfite, nothing. The result is 600 bottles of red-pink wine, drunk mainly by the owners themselves. We taste an older Vinudilice (Wine from the oakes) in a shady clearing in the oak grove and, very surprised, conclude that none of the glasses tastes the same. The wine is full bodied and earthy, but cannot charm everyone. However, we agree: wine more natural than this will be hard to find!
Feudo Cavaliere
Old, ungrafted vines we also find at Feudo Cavaliere. This robust, somewhat gloomy farm was once owned by a Benedictine abbey located at 1,000 meters above sea level, on the southern slopes of Etna. The view to the sea and to the top of ‘a Muntagna is breathtaking, and the vines themselves are surrounded by numerous fruit trees, protected plants and wild herbs.
Fertilization is not necessary here: the volcanic soil is full of nutrients and offers everything what a vine could wish. Ancient lava terraces are planted with the red grapes nerello mascalese and nerello capuccio and the white carricante and cataratto. Margherita Platania, the wine maker, has recently taken over from the previous generation; her wines, made from grapes from old vines, are made in stainless steel vats and matured on the lees. They are powerful, yet with feminine elegance.
Inaccessible places
That these plots with old vines are not always easy to reach, we experience very strongly on the north slope of the mountain, in Passopisciaro. In two jeeps winemaker Alberto Graci takes us to about 1000 meters above sea level. The road is so bad and steep, that we decide to walk back …
Also here, in this vineyard called Barbabecchi, the vines have taken root on lava terraces of over 200 years. They are surrounded by apple and olive trees. The scents of thyme, rosemary and many other herbs are overwhelming. And then there is the view: the vines have a place high above the valley of the river Alcantara, a protected nature reserve. The only companions to the plants are game and cows, who occasionally break out of their fence. “We lose a lot of grapes to hungry beasts,” Graci tells. “Moreover, there are also two-legged beings who like to empty these kind of plots. One of the disadvantages of such remote vineyards.”
Quota Mille
Graci likes to talk and continues: “I started this company to protect an important aspect of life on Etna. The volcano has a rich wine history and that history is very much part of life here. If you want to pass on that history and the traditions, you must seek the help of those who are rooted here for generations. They know exactly what the vines need, how to take care of them; they know the clouds that hang around the Etna, they know when the weather changes. ”
Like I Vigneri, Graci uses no chemicals, at least not in this vineyard, where his wine ‘Quota Mille’ comes from. Soil, wind and night-time cooling ensure a healthy environment. “I interfere as little as possible: we use natural yeasts, don’t practice temperature control, but we work extremely hygienic. We let the grapes soak for more than 30 days, press and then fill the large wooden barrels. This is different than in the old days. Then we had ‘pista e mmutta’ (press and fill) and the whole process was completed in three days. We keep to traditions, but also apply new insights.”
We taste the Quota 600, a red wine from slightly younger vines, planted at 600 meters altitude. Exclamation marks delineate my notes and I’m very curious about the wines of higher up, the Quota Mille. Unfortunately, just as I Vigneri’s Vinudilice, limited quantities are made and we leave without having tasted the famous wine. Back home in the Netherlands, Graci’s wines are not available. But a person must have something to wish for, right? And with that desire, ‘a Muntagna still exercises her influence, all the way to the Netherlands.
I visited Mount Etna in September 2012. This text comprises the full translation of an article that appeared in the Dutch magazine Bouillon, Spring 2013. The Dutch version was shortened and edited by the publisher. This is the complete version.
Many thanks to Consorzio di Tutela dei Vini Etna DOC, Fermenti Digitali and Camera di Commercio di Catania for the opportunity to visit this wonderful place full of wines and vines.
