Tasting Report: Red and White Wines of Mt. Etna

I’ve just returned from 2024 Etna Days, a three-day excursion to taste Etna’s wines, visit producers’ cellars, and dust my boots with volcanic soil. It was my fifth tour here, offering a chance to re-taste wines I’ve come to admire and discover new wines, too.

Mt. Etna was quiet last week, wreathed in the clouds that shift and switch as the afternoon warms, then cools. Etna’s fertile crescent rings the active cone from north through east to south, her gravel flanks embroidered with orchards, vineyards, meadow, and scree. Dry stone terraces march up the slopes in giant steps, black and chiseled in the sharp day sun. Etna is hand-built viticulture on a heroic scale.

A Solid, if Challenging, Vintage

Harvest has begun across the vineyard apron, with grapes for sparkling and white wines necessarily brought in sooner to preserve vital acidity. Many plots in the southern zones were finished, while further north, and higher up, black grapes were two to three weeks from their due date. This vintage has been dry, one of the driest in memory, although producers recounted receiving nearly a year’s worth of rainfall in the span of a few days mid-summer. Etna DOC regulations forbid irrigation, and in most years that’s not a problem. This was not “most years.”

Unfortunately, last year was also not “most years.” In 2023, vines were ravaged by Peronospora, a fungal disease prompted by a wet spring which drastically curtailed yields, even wiping out entire crops. Producers need a good 2024 vintage to make up for empty cellars. Fortunately, despite the heat and drought, vine growers exude optimism about the quality, ripeness, and flavor of this year’s fruit.

I visited many immaculate cellars; Etna winemaking is modern winemaking, the cantinas kitted out with pristine stainless fermenters, new cement and terra cotta, and spotless oak casks for aging. The vineyards, too, are beautifully tended, and despite abundant modern techniques, growers cling to the ancient albarello or head-training method, tying vines to chestnut stakes spaced on 1-meter quincunx. This option, versus wire trellising, makes it easier to move about the narrow terraces, and the foliage of these “little trees” shades grapes from the sun’s menace. Organic and sustainable practices are widespread but not talked about much. The makers shrug: It’s just the best way to grow grapes.

About Etna DOC Bianco and Rosso

Etna DOC wines are made principally from two native grapes, white Carricante and black Nerello Mascalese. A handful of other local varieties, like Cataratto and Nerello Cappuccio, historically dotted the vineyards, and they still find their way into blends. Rarely, they’re bottled as varietal wines (see below for Benanti’s Cappuccio), but these cannot be labeled Etna DOC.

As a class, Etna Bianco has profound saline character, with notes of citrus and fresh herbs. It’s a breezy wine, crackling with acidity and freshness that pairs amiably with fish and briny foods. Etna Rosso is cherry-fruited, scented with flowers and herbs encircling a black earth core. It has a ringing clarity reminiscent of wines made from Pinot noir or Nebbiolo, but its character is withal darker, saltier, moodier. Italians called this salinity sapidità, and it seasons all the wines.

When things go awry, the whites may have a sense of sour hay, while the reds read as astringent. In some instances makers apparently tried compensatory oak aging, not always to great effect. On the other hand, I found that deft use of neutral barrel can polish the best wines to a shine.

Producers here also make a tiny amount of vintage spumante following the traditional method; to be Etna DOC they must be at least 60% Nerello. There’s also a bit of rosato produced, sometimes richly colored but more often stylish pink. The best of both are seamless and snappy, ready rivals for their Italian and French peers.

Tasting Notes

In seated tastings and producer visits I formally evaluated 138 wines, and, during dinners and events, casually tasted many more. Below are 60 wines from formal tasting that I found most impressive; nearly all are available in the U.S. My notes are necessarily brief, quick sketches and impressions, and I admit the significant repetition fails to disambiguate them to a satisfying degree (read my further thoughts about this conundrum). So you’ll simply have to trust that these are my top picks from the glorious array. Wines marked with a star * are the very best of the best.

Benanti Noblesse Método Classico Brut Etna 2021 — Fresh and crackly with salt, lees, and bread.

Benanti Noblesse Carricante Método Classico Brut Terre Siciliane 2019 — A big, spumy wine with notes of toast, bread, and almond.

Benanti Lamorèmio Método Classico Brut Rosato Etna 2020 — Lovely black and green tea-like aromas, with hints of strawberries. A creamy mousse yields to a pleasant bitterness at the finish.

Benanti Cavaliere Etna Bianco 2022 — A white with a sense of lemon, vanilla, herbs, and flowers. It’s smooth and even-textured with scintillant acidity.

Benanti Pietra Marina Etna Bianco Superiore 2019 * — Silken textured with abundant salty minerality. There’s a sense of tarragon threaded throughout the wine. Its lively acidity elevates and vivifies.

Benanti Cavaliere Etna Rosso 2022 — A rosso shot with red and black fruits, leafiness, and herbs; the greenery is reminiscent of cool-climate Merlot. It has more body than some of the other Benanti wines, with fruit that lingers through the finish.

Benanti Nerello Cappuccio Rosso Terre Siciliane 2022 * — An unusual varietal bottling of Nerello Cappuccio. It’s supremely floral, with lilac, roses, tarragon, and anise seed. Very light textured and elegant, the body has shiny acidity and vanishing tannin. The finish delivers a fruity coffee note.

Benanti Rovitello Albarello Centenario Etna Rosso Riserva 2018 * — Sweetly smoky, rounded aromas. Fragrant of woodsy spice. Friendly texture and notes of black raspberry with a flame of acidity at the finish.

Benanti Serra della Contessa Albarello Centenario Etna Rosso Riserva 2018 * — Roses, spice, potpourri, red peppercorn, licorice. Very juicy wine, extremely drinkable with great clarity.

Ciro Biondi Outis Etna Bianco 2022 — A ripe wine with a silky texture and nice mid-palate notes of stone fruit.

Cuori di Marchesa Etna Bianco 2022 — Salt and lemon tint a sappy wine with a big fruit core.

Cuori di Marchesa Etna Rosso 2019 — The bottle age is evident, but notes of tea give it a pleasant freshness.

Donnafugata Marchesa Etna Rosso 2020 — Easy and friendly, with red cherry fruit, spice, and a juicy finish.

Donnafugata Courdilava Donnafugata / Dolce & Gabbana Etna Rosso 2020 — Also a friendly wine, light textured with suede-like tannins and bright red fruits.

Donnafugata Fragore Montelaguardia Etna Rosso 2020 — Darker than the other Donnafugata bottlings, with aromas of black cherry and black raspberry. The intense fruitiness will please many palates.

Federico Graziani Profumo di Vulcano Etna Rosso 2021 — Perfumed with spring flowers, high toned but not volatile. Ripe and crystalline with pretty red fruits. It’s sweetly demure.

Firriato Gaudensius Blanc de Noir Etna Spumante NV — Crackly, linear, direct, with a chiseled texture and succulent finish.

Firriato Cavanera Zottorinotto Balza delle Poiane Etna Bianco 2022 — Bright, flowery aromas and a body of plump yellow fruits. Smooth textured.

Firriato Cavanera Verzella Ripa di Scorciavacca Etna Bianco 2022 — A sense of fresh air, herbs, lemon, and salt yields to a seamless smooth texture.

Firriato Cavanera Marchesa Rovo delle Coturnie Etna Rosso 2020 — The fragrance feels sweet, like baked sugar and earth. Texturally round with red fruits held in firm structure.

Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Etna Rosso 2021 * — Floral with aromas that mingle dried, baked, and fresh fruits, notably blackberry, black cherry. Ample acidity gives it a vital kick.

Girolamo Russo A Rina Etna Rosso 2022 — Sweet and fey, it has a pretty almost Pinot-like perfume and texture like glass. Delicate and flowery.

Girolamo Russo Feudo Etna Rosso 2022 — A darker wine than the A Rina bottling, also floral but with undertones of earth and salt.

Girolamo Russo San Lorenzo Etna Rosso 2022 — Smells dark, tastes light. Ripe black fruits with shiny acidity.

Palmento Costanzo Método Classico Brut Etna NV — Crackling with salt and fresh bread. The huge mousse delivers leesy, savory notes with limited fruit.

Palmento Costanzo Cavaliere Etna Bianco 2021 — Citrus and sharp apricot fruits get a hint of dried peel and oregano. Texturally it’s a big, ripe wine.

Palmento Costanzo Santo Spirito Etna Bianco 2021 * — Lovely concentrated aromas of sultana and dried lemon peel. Silky, textural, it has glittery acidity.

Palmento Costanzo Prefiloxera Etna Rosso 2020 — Concentrated and a bit volatile, but the wine reads as elegant and attenuated. The red fruit flames out at the finish.

Palmento Costanzo Santo Spirito Etna Rosso 2019 — Rose petals and violets top-note a concentrated wine ripe with cherry acidity and chewy tannins. Give it air.

Passopisciaro Passorosso Etna Rosso 2022 * — The scent of bright fruits is shadowed by a sense of black earth. On the palate, red and black berries segue to a scintillant finish. It’s a wine that moves from dark to light and back again.

Pietradolce Archineri Etna Bianco 2022 — Lemon and vanilla aromas shift swiftly to freshness and sea breeze. Glistering acidity keeps it light.

Pietradolce Archineri Etna Rosso 2020 * — Flowery but like lily not rose, wild and untamed unlike a garden flower. Light textured, it has a dried rose petal midsection like potpourri without the spice. Evocative.

Pietradolce Santo Spirito Etna Rosso 2020 — Cranberry fruit makes it feel forthright and direct, but the wine finishes darker and more serious.

Pietradolce Feudo di Mezzo Etna Rosso 2020 — Dark and chewy, with bitter cherry aromas, ripe tannins and firm black fruit.

Pietradolce Barbagalli Etna Rosso 2019 * — Dark, broody, almost smoky black and red fruits give it a sultry sensibility. Structurally elegant, with a fruit core wound with shiny threads. Darkness falls again at the finish; this is a wine with personality and complexity. It feels like the mountain calling its own name.

Rupestre Etna Bianco 2023 — Fresh and saline, so salty, with an elegant texture. It’s the perfect oyster wine.

Rupestre Etna Rosso 2021 — Lightly reductive at first, with air it wakes up with rosy notes, raspberry, a bit of ginger.

Tasca d’Almerita Tenuta Tascante Sciaranuova Etna Bianco 2022 — A big, mouth filling, sappy wine.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco 2023 — Bracing and saline, with citrus (especially grapefruit peel) and herbs. The texture is silken but has a fresh herbal crunch.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Montalto Etna Bianco 2023 * — Wreathed in honey, vanilla, and honeysuckle, with a spreading mouthful of stone fruits. It’s almost tropical in its length.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Etna Bianco 2023 — Elegant, with fruit but not too much. The oak aging gives this wine weight and texture.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Santo Spirito Etna Bianco 2023 — A wine with a sluice of salt and forthright acidity. Light textured and supremely elegant.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Salice Etna Bianco Superiore 2023 — Lightly citric and profoundly saline, with a sense of sage and laurel. At the finish: sea air.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2022 — Flowery red fruits and nice mid-palate structure. A sense of dried rose petals lifts up the blazing cherry acidity.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Feudo di Mezzo Etna Rosso 2022 — Licorice, anise seed, and fennel ornament a rose-petaled wine. It has a silky midsection and chewy tannins.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Moganazzi Etna Rosso 2022 — Wildly perfumed of raspberry blossom, thyme, and cranberry. A generous wine with a core of black fruit and a lively kick at the back palate.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Guardiola Etna Rosso 2022 * — Quietly herbal, suggesting oregano but also dried rose petal and potpourri. Its cherry heart is accented with fresh fennel. Crystalline with great clarity.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere San Lorenzo Etna Rosso 2022 — The most high register of the Terre Nere reds, it has a fragrance of red raspberry and clear red heart. Silken and lithe but also, somehow, substantial.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso 2022 * — Dried roses, tea, woodsy spice, and tomato. It has a texture like heavy satin and tannins like kid leather. The finish goes on forever.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere 20th Anniversary Etna Rosso 2022 — Youthful and charming, with a fragrance like lilacs and roses floating over rambunctious red and black fruit. Youthful, gamine, charming.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Dagala della Bocca d’Oro Etna Rosso 2022 — A monopole wine. Supremely rosy, it’s a mouthful of red cherry and raspberry with an expansive finish.

Terra Costantino Contrada Praino Etna Bianco Superiore 2022 — Light textured and saline with a lighthearted, breezy fragrance.

Terra Costantino deAetna Etna Bianco 2023 — A touch of salt and reduction accented with notes of tarragon and summer savory. Succulent acidity and a faint bitterness keep it serious.

Terra Costantino deAetna Etna Rosso 2019 — A rosso with a wet stone minerality and a big, broody mouthfeel. It’s a dark wine with some brine.

Terra Costantino Contrada Blandano Etna Rosso Riserva 2019 — Dark, smoky, and a little closed, with air it opens in waves of black and red cherry fruit.

Terre Darrigo Etna Bianco 2023 — A deeply salty, mouthwatering wine with a spicy finish.

Terre Darrigo Etna Rosato 2023 — This pink wine is balanced and ample, offering red fruits with a garnish of salt.

Theresa Eccher Alizée Etna Bianco 2022 * — Lemon and salt, grass and sea air. The mid palate blooms and lingers. Lovely.

Theresa Eccher Contessa del Vento Etna Bianco Superiore 2023 * — Restrained, almost shy, with a velvety texture. The fruit waits in the wings. Seamless.

Tornatore Pietrarizzo Etna Rosso 2020 — Light textured with red fruits and a mineral core. A whiff of smoke drifts away.

Many thanks to the Consorzio Tutela Vini Etna DOC for sponsoring my visit and to Ispropress for coordinating travel and accommodation. All wines were samples for review.

Thanks also to Italian wine expert Alfonso Cevola for recommending this article to his readers.