Etna

Etna Rosso: pale, perfumed, high-acid red - the volcano's Burgundy.

Mostly Nerello Mascalese, sometimes with a little Nerello Cappuccio. Red cherry, wild strawberry, rose, dried herbs and a smoky, mineral edge; fine but firm tannin. Great with food, lovely slightly cool.

Mostly Nerello Mascalese, sometimes with a little Nerello Cappuccio. Red cherry, wild strawberry, rose, dried herbs and a smoky, mineral edge; fine but firm tannin. Great with food, lovely slightly cool.

An Etna Rosso from a family grower - the everyday star.

Girolamo Russo's 'a Rina, Graci's Etna Rosso or Terre Nere's entry wine: real Etna character at a fair price.

Girolamo Russo's 'a Rina, Graci's Etna Rosso or Terre Nere's entry wine: real Etna character at a fair price.

Nero dei Nebrodi ham + Etna Rosso.

Cured ham from Sicily's free-range black pigs, silky and rich. A lively, elegant Etna Rosso cuts the fat without overwhelming it.

Cured ham from Sicily's free-range black pigs, silky and rich. A lively, elegant Etna Rosso cuts the fat without overwhelming it.

Carricante: Etna's white - lemon, anise and a salty, stony bite.

A high-acid native white at its best on the east slope around Milo. Lean and citrusy young, it gains honey and depth with age.

A high-acid native white at its best on the east slope around Milo. Lean and citrusy young, it gains honey and depth with age.

An Etna Bianco Superiore - Benanti's Pietra Marina - to keep a few years.

Racy, saline Carricante from Milo that gets better over a decade; little-known abroad for what it costs.

Racy, saline Carricante from Milo that gets better over a decade; little-known abroad for what it costs.

The slope matters: north for perfumed reds, east for racy whites.

The north side (Randazzo, Passopisciaro, Castiglione) is drier and gives fine, floral reds; the east (Milo) catches rain and sea air and is Carricante country; the warmer south gives fuller wines.

The north side (Randazzo, Passopisciaro, Castiglione) is drier and gives fine, floral reds; the east (Milo) catches rain and sea air and is Carricante country; the warmer south gives fuller wines.

'Contrada' plus a name = one historic vineyard district - Etna's cru.

Etna labels can name a contrada, a traditional district often defined by a single lava flow. Guardiola, Rampante, Calderara Sottana, Feudo di Mezzo: these are the producer's site wines, and the best way to taste the mountain's differences.

Etna labels can name a contrada, a traditional district often defined by a single lava flow. Guardiola, Rampante, Calderara Sottana, Feudo di Mezzo: these are the producer's site wines, and the best way to taste the mountain's differences.

Large neutral casks keep Nerello pale, perfumed and savoury.

Many top producers age in big old casks or tonneaux rather than new barriques, so the red fruit, flowers and volcanic notes stay in front.

Many top producers age in big old casks or tonneaux rather than new barriques, so the red fruit, flowers and volcanic notes stay in front.

Etna Rosso from a contrada or Riserva: the mountain's serious reds.

Single-district and old-vine reds from the north slope and beyond. More concentration and grip than the entry wines, with the same perfume and acidity; best after five years or more.

Single-district and old-vine reds from the north slope and beyond. More concentration and grip than the entry wines, with the same perfume and acidity; best after five years or more.

Celebration bottle: a contrada or old-vine Etna Rosso.

Terre Nere's Calderara Sottana or Prephylloxera, Passopisciaro's Rampante or Pietradolce's Barbagalli - the mountain at its most serious.

Terre Nere's Calderara Sottana or Prephylloxera, Passopisciaro's Rampante or Pietradolce's Barbagalli - the mountain at its most serious.

A famous natural-wine fringe: no added sulphur, amphorae, field blends.

Growers such as Frank Cornelissen and Eduardo Torres Acosta farm organically, use wild yeasts and minimal additions, and often bottle field blends as Terre Siciliane IGT.

Growers such as Frank Cornelissen and Eduardo Torres Acosta farm organically, use wild yeasts and minimal additions, and often bottle field blends as Terre Siciliane IGT.

Etna Rosato and Spumante: pale, crisp pink and mountain bubbles.

Rosato from Nerello Mascalese is bright with strawberry and blood orange. Etna Spumante - mostly traditional-method, from Nerello Mascalese or Carricante - is a rising local fizz.

Rosato from Nerello Mascalese is bright with strawberry and blood orange. Etna Spumante - mostly traditional-method, from Nerello Mascalese or Carricante - is a rising local fizz.

Benanti: the Viagrande pioneer; Pietra Marina is the reference Etna white.

Founded in 1988 by Giuseppe Benanti, a pioneer of modern Etna. Pietra Marina, pure Carricante from Milo, is the benchmark Etna Bianco Superiore; Rovittello and Serra della Contessa are long-lived Riserva reds.

Benanti, based at Viagrande on the south-east slope, was founded in 1988 by Giuseppe Benanti and was one of the estates that relaunched fine wine on Etna before the boom. It has vineyards on all the volcano's slopes. Pietra Marina, its first release, is pure Carricante from Contrada Rinazzo at Milo and the reference for Etna Bianco Superiore: lemon, stone fruit and a strongly saline, mineral line that develops beautifully over a decade. Among the reds, Rovittello comes from old north-slope vines and Serra della Contessa from Monte Serra on the south-east, both Etna Rosso Riserva in a restrained, silky, high-acid style. Noblesse is a traditional-method sparkling Carricante - a natural local celebration bottle. The basic Etna Bianco and Rosso are reliable restaurant choices; Pietra Marina is the white to carry home.

Girolamo Russo: small family estate; 'a Rina is a great-value Etna Rosso.

Giuseppe Russo's organic family estate in Passopisciaro, founded in 2005 in his father's memory. 'a Rina is the multi-site Etna Rosso; San Lorenzo and Feudo are the contrada wines; Nerina is the white.

Girolamo Russo is a small, family-run estate in Passopisciaro on the north slope, set up in 2005 by Giuseppe Russo in memory of his father. The vines are old, many over 80, on volcanic soils between roughly 650 and 780 metres, and are farmed organically. The cellar approach is gentle and transparent, meant to let each contrada speak. 'a Rina, the Etna Rosso blended from several plots, is one of the most dependable, fairly priced bottles on the mountain and a perfect restaurant choice. San Lorenzo and Feudo are the single-contrada reds, deeper and more structured, and the white, Nerina, is an Etna Bianco. A good estate to show how a quiet family grower can sit alongside the famous names.

Bottling contrade separately turned Etna into a 'Burgundy of the south'.

From the 2000s, newcomers and locals began bottling individual contrade, and an annual showcase made the idea stick. It's now the backbone of Etna's top tier.

Until the late 1990s most Etna wine was sold in bulk or as simple blends. The newcomers who arrived around 2000 - Andrea Franchetti at Passopisciaro, Marc de Grazia at Terre Nere, Frank Cornelissen - and local pioneers such as Benanti saw something Burgundian in the mountain's patchwork of lava flows and altitudes. Terre Nere and Passopisciaro began bottling individual contrade, and Franchetti founded the Contrade dell'Etna in 2007, an annual gathering where producers pour their site wines side by side. Others followed: Graci with Arcurìa and Feudo di Mezzo, Girolamo Russo with San Lorenzo and Feudo, Pietradolce with its old-vine Rampante plots. The approach is now central to how Etna is judged, and village names are expected on labels soon. For the drinker, it's a ready-made tasting game: the same grape and the same producer, but different lava and height, and noticeably different wines.

Terre Nere: the north-slope estate that put contrade on Etna labels.

Founded by importer Marc de Grazia with a first vintage in 2002, between Solicchiata and Randazzo. The Etna Rosso is the reliable entry; the contrada wines are the reference set.

Tenuta delle Terre Nere was founded by Marc de Grazia, a US-based importer of Italian wine, who made his first vintage in 2002 on the north slope between Solicchiata and Randazzo and liked to call Etna 'the Burgundy of the Mediterranean'. He took the comparison literally, bottling individual contrade - Calderara Sottana, Guardiola, Santo Spirito, San Lorenzo, Feudo di Mezzo - and a wine from a plot of vines more than 140 years old, Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino. The estate is widely credited with spreading the contrada idea. The basic Etna Rosso and Etna Bianco are well made and widely available, the obvious restaurant picks; a contrada wine is the bottle for a special dinner, and comparing two of them shows how much lava and altitude change Nerello Mascalese.

Pietradolce: Solicchiata family estate; Barbagalli from century-old ungrafted vines.

The Faro family's estate, founded in 2005 at Solicchiata, with many ungrafted bush vines aged 80-120 years. Archineri and Vigna Barbagalli are its old-vine reds; Archineri Bianco comes from very old Carricante at Milo.

Pietradolce was founded in 2005 by Michele Faro, from a family of plant nurserymen in nearby Giarre, and takes its name from the light, porous volcanic stone the family knew from that business. Its vineyards lie mostly on the north slope around Rampante, Zottorinoto, Santo Spirito and Feudo di Mezzo, between about 650 and 950 metres, with a small plot of very old Carricante at Caselle near Milo. About a third of the estate is ungrafted, bush-trained vines 80 to 120 years old. Vigna Barbagalli, from a tiny pre-phylloxera plot in Rampante at 900 metres, is the concentrated, firmly tannic flagship; Archineri Rosso comes from another old Rampante parcel, and Archineri Bianco is citrusy, mineral and ages towards wax and honey. The estate farms organically and works only with native grapes. Start with the Etna Rosso; Barbagalli is the collector's bottle.

Lava flows of different ages make each contrada taste different.

Etna's soils are layers of volcanic sand, ash and lava from eruptions centuries apart, and contrade often follow one flow. Old, very old and ungrafted vines add to the mosaic.

On most wine regions, soil changes gradually; on Etna it can change at the edge of a lava flow. Each eruption laid down new rock, which weathers over centuries into black volcanic sand and ash; younger flows are stony and poor, older ones deeper and more fertile. The historic contrade often coincide with these flows, which is why neighbouring sites at similar heights can taste so different - Passopisciaro's Sciaranuova, for instance, sits on a seventeenth-century flow. The loose, sandy soils also kept phylloxera at bay, so Etna still has many ungrafted vines aged 80 to over 140 years, trained as free-standing bush vines. Those old vines give small crops of concentrated fruit; producers such as Terre Nere (Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino) and Pietradolce (Vigna Barbagalli, Archineri) bottle them separately. Tasting a few contrade from one producer side by side is the clearest lesson in volcanic terroir you can find.

Terre Siciliane IGT from Etna's natural growers: cult wines outside the DOC.

Some of the most talked-about Etna wines - Frank Cornelissen, Eduardo Torres Acosta - carry the regional IGT label. Low-intervention, often field blends, from the same volcanic slopes.

Etna's natural-wine side is small but internationally famous. Frank Cornelissen, a Belgian who settled on the north slope in 2001, farms organically, keeps vines ungrafted, ferments in neutral tanks and buried amphorae and adds no sulphur at any stage; his range runs from the everyday Susucaru blends to the single-contrada MunJebel wines and Magma, from vines planted in 1910. Eduardo Torres Acosta, from the Canary Islands, trained with Arianna Occhipinti and at Passopisciaro before renting small old-vine parcels on the north face; his Versante Nord red and white are field blends of local grapes, and Quota N comes from ungrafted vines above 1,000 metres. Both label their wines Terre Siciliane IGT. Expect bright, sometimes hazy, highly aromatic wines with lots of energy and some bottle variation. They're best found at specialist natural-wine bars and shops in Catania and abroad.

Frank Cornelissen: Etna's natural-wine pioneer - no added sulphur, amphorae.

A Belgian former importer who founded his north-slope estate in 2001. Organic, ungrafted vines, neutral tanks and buried amphorae, no added sulphur. Susucaru is the entry; Magma the rare flagship.

Frank Cornelissen arrived on Etna in 2000 and founded his estate in 2001, becoming the mountain's best-known natural winemaker. He works about two dozen hectares across many small parcels on the north slope, between 600 and 1,000 metres, all certified organic, all ungrafted and cropped very low. In the cellar he uses neutral epoxy tanks and buried terracotta amphorae, no fining and no added sulphur at any stage. The range climbs from Susucaru, a fresh, easy red or white field blend, to Contadino, then the MunJebel single-contrada reds and a Carricante-led white, and finally Magma, a tiny-production red from vines planted in 1910 in Contrada Barbabecchi. Everything is labelled Terre Siciliane IGT. Expect vivid, energetic wines with some vintage-to-vintage variation; Susucaru is the realistic place to start.

Local find: a natural Etna field blend - Cornelissen's Susucaru or Torres Acosta's Versante Nord.

Low-intervention, IGT-labelled wines from old north-slope vines; lively, aromatic and much sought after.

If you want to bring home the side of Etna that natural-wine bars talk about, look for two names. Frank Cornelissen's Susucaru is the entry point to a range made with organic, ungrafted vines, amphorae and no added sulphur; it comes as a fresh field-blend red or white and is far cheaper than his MunJebel and Magma wines. Eduardo Torres Acosta's Versante Nord red and white are field blends from small rented parcels on the north face, bright and aromatic, made by a young grower who trained with Arianna Occhipinti. Both are labelled Terre Siciliane IGT, so don't look for 'Etna' on the front. Stock is limited and often allocated; specialist shops and natural-wine bars in Catania are the best bet. Keep them cool on the way home - wines without added sulphur dislike heat.

Altitude: a Mediterranean island wine grown like a mountain wine.

Vines climb from about 400 metres to over 1,000 on the volcano's slopes. Cool nights and late harvests keep Etna's reds pale, fresh and perfumed - closer to Burgundy or Barolo than to the rest of Sicily.

Vines climb from about 400 metres to over 1,000 on the volcano's slopes. Cool nights and late harvests keep Etna's reds pale, fresh and perfumed - closer to Burgundy or Barolo than to the rest of Sicily.

In the glass: High acidity, red fruit and floral perfume; moderate alcohol for the south.

The slope matters: north for perfumed reds, east for racy whites.

The north side (Randazzo, Passopisciaro, Castiglione) is drier and gives fine, floral reds; the east (Milo) catches rain and sea air and is Carricante country; the warmer south gives fuller wines.

The north side (Randazzo, Passopisciaro, Castiglione) is drier and gives fine, floral reds; the east (Milo) catches rain and sea air and is Carricante country; the warmer south gives fuller wines.

In the glass: North: red fruit, flowers, iron, fine tannin. East: saline, citrusy whites. South: rounder, riper.

Lava flows of different ages make each contrada taste different.

Etna's soils are layers of volcanic sand, ash and lava from eruptions centuries apart, and contrade often follow one flow. Old, very old and ungrafted vines add to the mosaic.

On most wine regions, soil changes gradually; on Etna it can change at the edge of a lava flow. Each eruption laid down new rock, which weathers over centuries into black volcanic sand and ash; younger flows are stony and poor, older ones deeper and more fertile. The historic contrade often coincide with these flows, which is why neighbouring sites at similar heights can taste so different - Passopisciaro's Sciaranuova, for instance, sits on a seventeenth-century flow. The loose, sandy soils also kept phylloxera at bay, so Etna still has many ungrafted vines aged 80 to over 140 years, trained as free-standing bush vines. Those old vines give small crops of concentrated fruit; producers such as Terre Nere (Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino) and Pietradolce (Vigna Barbagalli, Archineri) bottle them separately. Tasting a few contrade from one producer side by side is the clearest lesson in volcanic terroir you can find.

In the glass: Site-to-site differences in perfume, grip and depth; old vines add concentration.

Alberello bush vines, often ungrafted and very old.

Etna's traditional vineyards are dense plantings of free-standing bush vines, many on their own roots because phylloxera struggles in volcanic sand. Old vines give small crops of concentrated fruit.

Etna's traditional vineyards are dense plantings of free-standing bush vines, many on their own roots because phylloxera struggles in volcanic sand. Old vines give small crops of concentrated fruit.

In the glass: Concentration and depth without heaviness; old-vine wines have more grip and length.

Large neutral casks keep Nerello pale, perfumed and savoury.

Many top producers age in big old casks or tonneaux rather than new barriques, so the red fruit, flowers and volcanic notes stay in front.

Many top producers age in big old casks or tonneaux rather than new barriques, so the red fruit, flowers and volcanic notes stay in front.

In the glass: Red fruit, herbs and smoke rather than vanilla; firm but fine tannin.

Bottling contrade separately turned Etna into a 'Burgundy of the south'.

From the 2000s, newcomers and locals began bottling individual contrade, and an annual showcase made the idea stick. It's now the backbone of Etna's top tier.

Until the late 1990s most Etna wine was sold in bulk or as simple blends. The newcomers who arrived around 2000 - Andrea Franchetti at Passopisciaro, Marc de Grazia at Terre Nere, Frank Cornelissen - and local pioneers such as Benanti saw something Burgundian in the mountain's patchwork of lava flows and altitudes. Terre Nere and Passopisciaro began bottling individual contrade, and Franchetti founded the Contrade dell'Etna in 2007, an annual gathering where producers pour their site wines side by side. Others followed: Graci with Arcurìa and Feudo di Mezzo, Girolamo Russo with San Lorenzo and Feudo, Pietradolce with its old-vine Rampante plots. The approach is now central to how Etna is judged, and village names are expected on labels soon. For the drinker, it's a ready-made tasting game: the same grape and the same producer, but different lava and height, and noticeably different wines.

In the glass: Distinct site characters: higher contrade more perfumed and taut, lower ones rounder.

A famous natural-wine fringe: no added sulphur, amphorae, field blends.

Growers such as Frank Cornelissen and Eduardo Torres Acosta farm organically, use wild yeasts and minimal additions, and often bottle field blends as Terre Siciliane IGT.

Growers such as Frank Cornelissen and Eduardo Torres Acosta farm organically, use wild yeasts and minimal additions, and often bottle field blends as Terre Siciliane IGT.

In the glass: Vivid, energetic, sometimes cloudy wines with more vintage variation.

The palmento: old stone wineries where grapes were trodden by foot.

Traditional gravity-fed stone cellars dot the slopes. Most are no longer used for winemaking, but they show how long wine has been made here.

Traditional gravity-fed stone cellars dot the slopes. Most are no longer used for winemaking, but they show how long wine has been made here.

In the glass: Historical rather than a style marker today.