Tenuta delle Terre Nere

In 2007, the Rosato was born – because Marco de Grazia's three-year-old daughter, Elena, insisted on it. There was a red wine, there was a white. Why not one in pink too? The winery was already painted pink. All that was missing was the wine. De Grazia, who had not planned to make a Rosato until then, set to work. The result is not a frivolous summer wine, even though it is often enjoyed in summer. De Grazia's stated ideal for his Rosato is: "il corpo di un bianco e l'anima di un rosso". And he adds: "joyful without being frivolous; tension without being austere." Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio from vines aged between 25 and 60 years on the northern slopes of Mount Etna, at altitudes of between 600 and 900 metres, on volcanic soils from the estate's various vineyards.

In the early 2000s, Marco de Grazia, an American wine merchant with Tuscan roots, began systematically buying land on Mount Etna. Not because the volcano was the talk of the town at the time – it wasn't. But because de Grazia, who had been importing Sicilian wines into the US since the 1990s, recognised something that many locals had not yet seen: that these soils, these Alberello vines, these altitudes between 600 and 900 metres possessed something that could not be found anywhere else on the island.

Marc de Grazia made Etna history when he rediscovered the forgotten volcanic slopes over two decades ago. His Etna Rosso – the estate's 'calling card' – now blends grapes from various vineyards at altitudes between 600 and 900 metres, where Nerello Mascalese grows on ancient volcanic soils. The vines are situated on the cool northern slopes of Mount Etna, surrounded by black pumice and lava rock – a terroir that lends every sip its unmistakable mineral character.

"There are around 1,500 olive trees on our estate. Many of them are centuries old. And in their presence, we feel a sense of duty to a historical memory that flows through our veins today. I would never dare to say that our oil is the best in the world. There is no such thing as the best oil in the world. I would say that there are certainly others who look after their trees and their olives just as we do, but none who do so more than we do."

The area around the small town of Milo is the only vineyard site on Mount Etna where an "Etna Bianco Superiore" is permitted to be bottled – and for good reason: on this steep vineyard, which consists of dozens of small terraces, only Carricante may be planted. The vines are trained like little saplings on chestnut wood stakes. The east-facing aspect and the proximity of the sea allow the grapes to ripen late, resulting in very consistent acidity levels and, ultimately, a white wine of aromatic finesse and freshness that is unrivalled even on Mount Etna. More floral and citrusy on the nose than the standard Carricante, the Superiore also exhibits slightly more body, acidity, depth and finesse. Its elegant acidity makes it vibrantly fresh and long on the palate, ensuring an exciting drinking experience and excellent ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Marco de Grazia has been firmly established on the northern slope of Mount Etna for decades. But he did not stop there: over many years, he also explored the volcano's other slopes, bought grapes, produced wine for colleagues, measured altitudes, studied geological features and examined historical boundaries. At extreme altitudes on the southern flank, he was convinced he had found an area where Carricante thrives exceptionally well. For six years, he experimentally vinified grapes from there, convinced of their exceptional elegance, before he was fortunate enough to be offered a tiny, very old vineyard – precisely the one from which his favourite white grapes came. The constant fresh winds at 950 metres perfectly balance out the full south-facing aspect, says de Grazia himself. The first vintage was 2019, a gem, as he calls it.

The area surrounding the small town of Milo is the only vineyard on Mount Etna where an "Etna Bianco Superiore" is permitted to be bottled – and for good reason: only Carricante may be planted on this steep vineyard, which consists of dozens of small terraces. The vines are trained like small saplings on chestnut wood stakes. The east-facing aspect and the proximity of the sea allow the grapes to ripen late, resulting in very consistent acidity levels and, ultimately, a white wine of aromatic finesse and freshness that is unrivalled even on Mount Etna. 

Milo is the only municipality on the entire slopes of Mount Etna whose white wines are permitted to bear the suffix "superiore". This distinction was enshrined in the DOC regulations in 1968 – and reflects the microclimate of this eastern flank: twice the rainfall compared to the north-facing slopes, an easterly aspect towards the Ionian Sea, cooling sea breezes, and volcanic soils composed of ash and Ripiddu lapilli. In the mists of the summer nights that Marco de Grazia describes in his writings on Milo, the Carricante ripens here to a level of precision it achieves nowhere else on the volcano.

This single-vineyard Carricante comes from the small Montalto vineyard, situated on the southern slope of Mount Etna at an altitude of approximately 950 metres. In terms of its overall character and aromatics, it is the most balanced and, at the same time, the most exciting of all Terre Nere's Etna Bianco wines; here, the full Etna profile is present in just the right measure: minerality, salinity, fruitiness and a perfect hint of orange peel and flint on the nose. On the palate, it is vibrant and refined, with an almost Burgundian character, full of finesse and length. SUPERIORE.DE

It was in 2007 that Marc de Grazia tasted a 42-year-old Carricante for the first time – and that moment changed everything. Three different occasions, three different bottles, yet always the same revelation: a wine of such impeccable beauty and youthful vigour, despite its venerable age, that the Etna pioneer knew immediately: this was the sort of wine he wanted to create himself. From this vision emerged Le Vigne Niche Santo Spirito, a tribute to the past and, at the same time, a manifesto for the future. In the Contrada Santo Spirito, at an altitude of 700 to 800 metres in Castiglione di Sicilia, the Carricante vines thrive on jet-black volcanic soils, rich in ash from past eruptions. Here, where for centuries only red grapes had been cultivated, Marc dared to attempt the seemingly impossible: single-varietal white crus of world-class calibre.

Whilst Santo Spirito unfolds its floral elegance at an airy altitude of 700 to 800 metres, Calderara Sottana is rooted in a completely different world. Just a few kilometres away, yet geologically distinct, this Contrada lies at an altitude of 620 to 670 metres, right next to the vineyard; and it is here that the extraordinary complexity of the Etna terroir reveals itself. In Calderara Sottana, Marc de Grazia discovered one of Sicily's rarest treasures: a pure, elliptical terroir, formed 60,000 years ago by volcanic eruptions. Of the hundreds of contrade on Mount Etna, only three possess this unique geological fingerprint, and Calderara is one of them. Whilst the Santo Spirito captivates with its crystalline minerality and maritime freshness, the Calderara Sottana is more opulent, creamier and warmer.

Whilst Santo Spirito unfolds its floral elegance at an airy altitude of 700 to 800 metres, Calderara Sottana is rooted in a completely different world. Just a few kilometres away, yet geologically distinct, this Contrada lies at an altitude of 620 to 670 metres directly adjacent to the vineyard – and it is here that the extraordinary complexity of the Etna terroir reveals itself. In Calderara Sottana, Marc de Grazia discovered one of Sicily's rarest treasures: a pure, elliptical terroir, formed 60,000 years ago by volcanic eruptions. Of the hundreds of contrade on Mount Etna, only three possess this unadulterated geological fingerprint, and Calderara is one of them. Whilst the Santo Spirito captivates with its crystalline minerality and maritime freshness, the Calderara Sottana is more opulent, creamier and warmer.

On the northern border with Guardiola, where the barren, steep slopes of the higher ground give way to gentle terraces, lies one of the most beautiful spots on Mount Etna: Santo Spirito. Here, where the slopes gently descend towards the Alcantara Valley, a paradox of nature is revealed. Whilst neighbouring Guardiola struggles with barren, stony soils, Santo Spirito boasts lush vegetation – deep, rich volcanic ash that nourishes a luxuriant carpet of grass and vigorous vines that display their bountiful vigour.

In 2007, Marco de Grazia discovered a tiny plot in Moganazzi – one of the two vineyards which, together with Guardiola, have always been regarded as the finest terroirs in the municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia. He bought it without hesitation. The problem: just three barriques of wine. Too little for the market. Too good not to be made. De Grazia decided to donate all the bottles to a charity project run by the Meyer Children's Hospital in Florence. He had his daughter Elena design the labels. The first ones were created when she was two years old. For ten years, Moganazzi was a gift to sick children. Then, in 2017, de Grazia managed to buy a neighbouring plot and lease another one. For the first time, Moganazzi appeared as an official Terre Nere cru.

Feudo di Mezzo is perhaps the largest Contrada in the entire Etna DOC – characterised by a consistent style, yet with marked differences in quality from plot to plot. Marco de Grazia compares it to the Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy: a vast territory capable of producing great wine in its finest parts, and merely good wine in its weaker ones. The best plot in Feudo di Mezzo – de Grazia's plot – is called: Il Quadro delle Rose. The Rose Plot. Castiglione di Sicilia, 650 metres, north-facing. 1.5 hectares, vines aged between 40 and 80 years on deep, ash-rich volcanic soils. 5,500 bottles per vintage. Il Quadro delle Rose is always the first vineyard to be harvested – and de Grazia explains why this shapes its character: the earlier harvest yields the most open, generous and soft wines of the entire estate.

The place where it all began in 2002. The first vintage of Tenuta delle Terre Nere did not come from just any plot. It came from the Guardiola: the estate's highest vineyard, the most challenging, and the oldest. For the first Etna wine of his career, Marco de Grazia chose the toughest start he could find. And he gave it two further firsts: the first time an Etna Rosso bore the Contrada name on the label. And the first time it was bottled in a Burgundy-style bottle. The Contrada Guardiola lies at an altitude of 900 to 1,000 metres – right on the very edge of the Etna DOC. No grapes grow any higher up. The soils are poor: sand, volcanic pumice, basalt scree – the bare minimum a vine needs. The terraces become narrower with increasing altitude; vineyard work there is carried out exclusively by hand and is exceptionally difficult. The vines have stood on this soil for over a hundred years – on their own roots, ungrafted, because phylloxera never reached these high altitudes on Mount Etna. Pre-phylloxera. Alive.

On the far north-western edge of the Etna DOC, where the cold reigns and time seems to stand still, lies San Lorenzo – one of the volcano's three holy grails. Here, at an altitude of 750 metres in the municipality of Randazzo, we encounter a geological wonder: a pure elliptical terroir, formed 60,000 years ago by the explosive activity of the Ellittico crater. Marc de Grazia recognised something extraordinary in San Lorenzo – a place of aristocratic purity. Of the hundreds of contrade on Mount Etna, only three possess this unadulterated elliptical heritage: Bocca d'Orzo, Calderara and San Lorenzo. Millennia of lava flows have buried all the older soils, leaving only tiny, precious fragments of these ancient volcanic sands.

In the heart of the northern Etna amphitheatre, where time seems to be carved in stone, lies Calderara Sottana, the realm of black stones. Here, at an altitude of 600 to 650 metres in the municipality of Randazzo, one of the volcano's geological mysteries is revealed: A terroir so rich in stones that, in the most characteristic areas, the soil disappears beneath them – fist-sized, light chunks of black pumice and basalt. The name Calderara evokes the warmth that the black stones absorb during the day and release back into the earth during the cold nights. Marc de Grazia recognised Calderara Sottana as one of the three sacred 'contrade' of the pure Ellittico heritage – that precious geological legacy resulting from the activity of the Ellittico crater between 60,000 and 15,000 years ago. Of all the crus in the Etna DOC, these are undoubtedly the stoniest soils, even stonier than the aristocratic San Lorenzo to the west. Here, ancient vines aged between 50 and 100 years take root in this mineral labyrinth of volcanic rock, where every plant fights for every centimetre of fertile soil.

Between 60,000 and 15,000 years before Christ, Mount Etna eroded its ancient centre – the Ellittico eruptive complex collapsed in on itself. What remains are some of the oldest surface soils on the volcano that can still be used for cultivation. Subsequent lava flows buried the older layers beneath them; only small, rare plots of Ellittico survived on the surface. On the northern flank of Mount Etna, there are three contrade with pure Ellittico terroir: Bocca d'Orzo, Calderara and San Lorenzo. Three out of hundreds. Calderara – the name evokes warmth. The stones here, fist-sized and light, a mixture of black pumice and basalt, absorb the sun's heat during the day and slowly release it back into the soil during the cold nights. Without this invisible thermal balance, the ripening process at an altitude of 600 to 650 metres would be quite different. Don pep, who tended these vineyards for seventy years, found the most precise word to describe the wines from this site: "cremosi". It's true – and it couldn't be put any better.

In the tranquil stillness of Calderara Sottana, where time follows its own rules, lies a sanctuary: La Vigna di Don pep. Here, on barely 0.8 hectares of ancient volcanic soil, the vines have worked a miracle: they survived the great phylloxera disaster that ravaged the whole of Europe more than a century ago and destroyed millions of vineyards. These few rows of ungrafted Nerello Mascalese vines, which have been rooted in the stony soils of the elliptical terroir since 1880, are living witnesses to over 140 years of viticultural history. They stand there like aged princesses in a royal garden; their charming wrinkles tell of generations they have seen come and go, whilst they themselves have remained steadfast.