On our drive north Tim explained about the grape varieties of the DOC of Etna, whites must be made mainly from Carricante, reds from Nerello Mascalese with a bit of Nerello Cappuccio. These varieties thrive in Etna’s volcanic soils. Etna was unfortunately largely obscured by clouds as we drove north, but as our coach climbed up from the outskirts of Catania we began to see plenty of evidence of volcanic activity, with small cone-shaped hills covered in vines.
At Azienda Agricola Biondi we were greated by Ciro Biond, and his two large mastif dogs (who were very gentle). Ciro led us up to the vineyards, explaining that they have had no rain for a year, so the showers expected on Friday were most welcome.
His 6ha of vines which his family have owned for decades span two of Etna’s Contrade, Monte San Nicolò and Ronzini, and we could see the difference between the volcanic sandy soil of the former (see picture) and the redder rocky soils of the latter.
Despite the lack of rain, vines planted this year have managed to grow!
At the top of the vineyards we sat and listened with fascination to Ciro and his wife Stephanie. We learnt a bit about the history of Etna, how it had been occupied by Greeks (evidence of whose winemaking is still being dug out of layers of volcanic ash), Romans, Muslims, Normans and then waves of Spanish and French. Winemaking thrived in Middle Ages, and Sicily was a source of wine shipped north to places like Gattinara in Piedmont and Burgundy to beef up their wines in poor years.
However Phylloxera and economic distress that caused many people to emigrate reduced Etna winemaking to almost nothing, and the renaissance began only in the 1990s when Giuseppe Benanti introduced modern winemaking techniques. The Biondis were only one of 5 winemakiners in Etna in 1999, there are now 300.
Our tasting took us through their entire range, staring with their Outis Etna DOC Bianco and Rosso Riserva, then wines from the Contrade.
We learned that Carricante means overloaded and Catarrato means waterfall, and understood that it was only when these grape varieties’ yields were controlled did the quality of Etna whites emerge. Minello is the third white variety in the blends.
The paleness of the reds was amazing. Ciro explained that Nerello Mascalese grown on the southern slopes of Etna is very pale, and Cappuccio is required to add colour, whereas on the northen slopes Mascalese has more colour and very little Cappuccio is grown. The wines were lovely, they had florality and elegance comparable to Nebbiolo wines of Barolo and Barbaresco.
All this accompanied by some local cheeses and salamis, in such beautiful surroundings. We didn’t want to leave!
A short bus ride away was Terracostantino – a larger family owned estate. Angelika took us through the vineyards to the old palmeto where we saw the ancient press with its huge screw (lubricated we learnt by the prickly pear trees that were growing everywhere!)
Angelika explained about the organic principles on which the estate is run, and proudly showed us the UNESCO listed ancient dry stone wall that bounds an ancient stream bed.
We tasted their wines accompanied by a light lunch of tomato and cheese crostini and a pumpkin pasta. A rosato, bianco and rosso Etna DOC confirmed their quality while their whites from the Contrade Praino (which is in Milo, the only place a Superiore wine can be made) and Contrade Blandano were a brilliant contrast in the terroirs. Their Contrade Blandano red was follwoed by the Rasolo Rosso – an IGT wine that blends all the varieties, white and red, grown in a single terrace. This was how Etna wines used to be made (albeit with some temperature control and attention to oxidation) and its juicy fruit, freshness and vim was a lovely pep up at the end of a super meal.
We even returned to Siracusa with enough energy to venture out for an exploration of Ortigia!
