Story of the wine:
The wines produced from the vineyards around the Etna volcano are the new, re-discovered wines of the last decade. In the 1990s Etna was on its death bed with just a handful of producers. Then in the 2000s the region and the local grape varieties were recognised as being capable of making great wines. Cottanera, named after the river that runs alongside the vineyards, was founded in the 1990s by Guglielmo Cambria together with his brother Enzo and is now recognised as being one of the key wineries that sparked the Etna revival. Their vineyards on the northern slopes are over volcanic lava.
Grape(s): 80% Nerello Mascalese, 20% Nerello Cappuccio
Area: From vineyards in the Contrada Cottanera and Contrada Diciassettesalme; near Castiglione di Sicilia just to the north of the volcano.
Altitude: 720-750m Vinification: After a soft pressing there is a 20 day maceration at 270C. Then there is 12 day fermentation at 240C in stainless steel vats. There is a complete malolactic fermentation in stainless steel vats.
Ageing: It is aged in stainless steel vats of various sizes 52, 130 and 230 hl for 5 months
