An Eruption of Fine Wine on Mount Etna

BY ERIC GUIDO | MAY 29, 2025

In last year's article, “Unveiling the Diverse Palette of Sicily, New Releases and Beyond,” I wrote, “Mark my words, the day Mount Etna receives its own individual coverage, much like the regions of Piedmont, Montalcino and Burgundy, will soon be upon us. The progress I’ve witnessed in the past decade is nothing short of amazing.” Well, that day has come. Frankly, I’m surprised it’s taken this long. Having gained its initial recognition through Etna Rosso and now even more so through Etna Bianco, Mount Etna has established itself as one of the world’s foremost viticultural areas.

Etna’s complex division of contrade and diverse terroirs make it a treasure trove of site-specific wines. The Etna DOC, which accounts for Rosso, Bianco and Rosato, spans elevations from 450 meters up to 1,200 meters in the south and 800 meters in the north, with unique soils and mineral deposits created by millennia of lava flows. To this day, constant volcanic activity results in varying degrees of ash and volcanic stone deposits across the entire region. The Etna DOC covers the volcano's north, south and east sides, yet not the west side, due to a history of active lava flows that regularly destroyed vineyards in the area.

Nerello Mascalese is the king of the north. This side of the volcano is warm, with a cooling influence from the Nebrodi and Peloritani Mountains. It’s also the historical center of Etna’s fine red wine production. In the east, Carricante takes center stage. The mix of generally wet conditions and cooler temperatures prevents winemakers from rearing notable reds, but it’s a perfect environment for whites. The south is a warmer area with southern exposures where vineyards reach elevations up to 1,200 meters. Both Nerello Mascalese and Carricante thrive here, yielding wines with rounder, richer fruit profiles. Though some might argue that wines of the south lacked importance historically, current producers like Benanti and Idda (Gaja’s project in partnership with Alberto Graci) prove the area’s mettle. With vineyards outside the 800-meter DOC limit on the north slope, producers often bottle these wines under the lesser classification Terre Siciliane because the fruit comes from elevations above the legal limit. Many of these sites did not perform well before the onset of global warming, such as those in Contrada Barbabecchi and Contrada Sciaranuova. Even today, a cool vintage can produce underripe fruit at these high elevations. But when the fruit does ripen, the results can be spellbinding.

Velvety dunes of ash at the Porcaria vineyard in Contrada Fuedo di Mezzo.

Mount Etna's grand scale is hard to quantify, but luckily, the region began developing an organizational structure in 1960s during the inception of the Etna DOC, now totaling 142 individual contrade. The term contrada is best described as a neighborhood of vineyards in a general location, sharing similar elevations yet a multitude of distinct soil types. It’s not a perfect system, but it is an excellent stepping stone in the right direction that provides winemakers and consumers with a useful tool to understand a wine’s sense of place.