Our Vineyards
Around the volcano
Contrada Moganazzi (Cellar)
Only a maniacal search for quality and a boundless love for this terroir can make it possible to uproot a vineyard that is only 10 years old and replant it all to sapling.
Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Carricante planted by us in a perfect matrix, following the original quincunx pattern, give the right balance between quality and quantity.
VINEYARD
Zone: Etna North Slope
Altitude: 700 mslm
Extent: 7.5 hectares
Varieties: Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Carricante
PLANT
System: Alberello, quincunx and espalier sixth in conversion to Alberello
Planting density: 7,000 vines per hectare
Age of vines: up to 10 years
SOIL
Sandy, volcanic, very mineral-rich, subacid-reacting.
Contrada Moganazzi (House)
The first walk to Moganazzi definitely ignited the spark of our passion for the Volcano’s vineyards. A natural amphitheater framed by lava stone dry-stone walls, with an old millstone in the center looking out over the Nebrodi Mountains north of Etna. The low walls supporting the terraces facilitate both water drainage and ventilation for the plants. We found thousands of vines there, half a century old and in perfect health. Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, which are vinified to give life to Aetneus, our first Rosso. With I Vigneri we worked for a long time to make up for the failures that the passage of time had created. One by one, we planted new vines with the hope that they would live as long naturally as their sisters.
VINEYARD
Zone: Etna North Slope
Altitude: 700 mslm
Extension: 2 hectares
Variety: Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio
VINEYARD
System: sapling, quincunx sixth
Planting density: 8,500 vines per hectare
Age of vines: up to 90 years
SOIL
Sandy, volcanic, very mineral-rich, subacid-reacting.
Contrada Taverna
Those who stand on the highest point of Contrada Puntalazzo enjoy an unforgettable view of the Ionian Sea, from the Strait of Messina to the Gulf of Catania. From afar they greet the mountains of Calabria, while almost a thousand meters below the scenery is dominated by the marina of Riposto, the ancient port of Etna, from where Etnean wine departed to distant destinations. On the terraces sloping eastward, I Vigneri have restored the old dry stone walls, then planted fourteen thousand Carricante vines in a quincunx planting with a meter by meter sixth.
VINEYARD
Zone: Etna EAST Slope
Altitude: 750 mslm
Extension: 1.3 hectares
Vine variety: Carricante
PLANT
System: sapling, quincunx sixth
Planting density: 8,000 vines per hectare
Age of vines: 10 years
SOIL
Sandy, volcanic, very mineral-rich, subacid-reacting.
Feudo di Mezzo
A walk through our contrada Feudo di mezzo is an immersion in the history of Etna viticulture. There is an extraordinary concentration of free-standing vines, some over two hundred years old. Each of the generations before us planted vines that we still find in excellent health. Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Alicante, to produce a wine of great ageing, the first vintages of which are still slowly maturing before they can be bottled.
The mound of stones that surmounts the vineyard has grown generation after generation, the result of continuous unfolding. This type of construction helps to design the wine landscape of Etna, and we have decided to invest in the preservation of this landscape as well: the restoration of the “turret” of Vigna Centenaria sums up what we mean when we define ourselves as Keepers of Etna’s vineyards.
VINEYARD
Zone: Etna North Slope
Altitude: 600 mslm
Extension: 1 hectare
Varieties: Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Alicante (pre-phylloxera)
PLANT
System: sapling, quincunx sixth
Planting density: 8,500 vines per hectare
Age of vines: up to 250 years
SOIL
Sandy, volcanic, very mineral-rich, subacid-reacting.
