Organically grown Nerello Mascalese grapes were hand harvested from old bush vines grown on the northern face of Mt Etna, Sicily. These grapes were picked together with small quantities of Nerello Cappuccio, Grenache and the indigenous white grapes (Grecanico, Catarratto, Minella Bianca) that have been traditionally co-planted in the small vineyard plots high on the volcano. 80% of the final blend was wine made from grapes spontaneously fermented in an ancient Etnean winemaking building, called a Palmento (stone buildings where wine was made, with a permanent system of stone containers using the force of gravity to channel wine into barrels - In a palmento you find several floors: on the top level grapes are entered. They are brought inside through large windows and end up in shallow stone basins. There they are crushed by foot. The juice can drain through gutters, past retractable wooden partitions, to a lower level. When as much as possible of the grape juice has been extracted, the pips and skins are lumped together and pressed again, now using a large round, straw mat, nicknamed the 'donkey'.). The rest of the blend is a wine made in a 15hl Georgian qvevri, where the fruit was destemmed and macerated on skins for one month. The final blend of the two wines spent time in a large old oak cask and in stainless steel on fine lees, prior to bottling without fining or filtration. Bright crimson red, this wine has attractive red cherry and wild strawberry aromas. A chillable delight, this is full of juicy red fruits, with a dry, somewhat herbaceous finish. Scrumptious!
We love it with:
Type: Red
Vintage: 2020
Size: 750 mL
Grape: Nerello Mascalese + Friends
Region: Sicily, Italy
Vinification: “Vino di Anna” is a small, family wine estate situated high on the northern slopes of Mt Etna, near the village of Solicchiata. Anna Martens and Eric Narioo made their first wine together on Mount Etna in 2008. In 2010, the couple purchased their first vineyard of old vine Nerello Mascelese in Contrada Crasà, along with a neighbouring, derelict palmento and “deposito”. Today, the family wine estate owns 7 hectares of land spread across the northern slopes of the volcano, which they farm biodynamically. Together, they make a range of wines, expressive of their “terroir”. They also produce Extra Virgin Olive oil and help curate the rare Sicilian black bee. Eric and Anna aim to make wines that are tasty, expressive, true to their provenance and that reflect the growing season that year. All of the vineyards are tended by hand and farmed without the use of any chemicals. Only healthy ripe grapes are harvested by hand, during the months of September and October. There is minimum intervention in the winery. Fermentation is by indigenous yeasts, with no additives, no fining or filtering. Little or no SO2 is used in production. Their combined experience and continued desire to seek typicity, minerality and drinkability is reflected in the glass.