2020 Bianco Aurora

The portfolio of I Vigneri continues to be a huge standout during my Etna tastings. This is the passion project of Salvo Foti, a man that can count many feathers in his cap, from Gulfi in the south to Benanti and Vini Biondi on Mount Etna. Foti works with his two sons, Simone and Andrea through their five hectares of vineyards, along with a group of vine growers in the region to farm another thirty hectares on the northern slopes of Mount Etna. The white wines hail from elevations as high as 1,200 meters. These vines were planted in 2005 and feed the Aurora and Vigna di Milo. As for the top red of the house, and one of the top reds of the 2017 vintage, the Vinupetra Viti Centenario is made from albarello (bush) vines that are around 100 years old: including Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and even Alicante (Grenache). Practices are all organic, and the winery chooses to ferment with partial whole clusters (around 30%), which is something that isn’t very common with Nerello Mascalese, as it’s very difficult to achieve ripe stems from the variety. That said, I can’t argue with what this estate manages to achieve through this practice.