PROFUMO DI VULCANO
Etna's mixed blood
The Garden Vineyard. A microcosm of culture and biodiversity.
Profumo di Vulcano starts with a small vineyard that dates back to the late nineteenth century, about one-half hectare of land on the northern slopes of Mount Etna at 600 metres above sea level, in the district of Feudo di Mezzo, a small hamlet in Passopisciaro, in the municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia.
The altitude and north-facing position offer shelter from the strong winds of the sirocco, which is why the daily temperature ranges to around 28°C in summer. These unique conditions ensure the grapes the longer maturation that develops their taste and complexity.
The vines, averaging 100 years old – some predating the nineteenth-century phylloxera plague – represent the best of Etna’s native species. There are Nerello Mascalese and Cappuccio, Alicante and Francisi, as well as about forty white grape vines. A vineyard-garden to perfectly sum up this land.
A sip
a hundred years long
I like wines that are authentic, not processed, able to convey the aromas and flavours of the land they come from in just a few sips. Profumo di Vulcano is one of these: a wine from bygone times, with a strong personality and an unmistakable identity.
Every year, in late September and early October, we harvest early to keep the freshness of the fruit alive and give the wine a backbone you can taste. We employ spontaneous fermentation in wooden vats, and without controlled temperatures.
After maturing for at least twenty-four months in tonneaux in two steps, the wine is bottled with minimal filtration and without being decanted, following the traditional method, and is then matured for another twelve months.
The result is something special, with typically Mediterranean olfactory notes and a rich, tannic taste with great personality. It is a complex wine with a thousand nuances like the territory it comes from, witness to over a century of history and life at the feet of Mount Etna.
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