353: How do vines thrive in Mount Etna’s rocky, volcanic soils on the island of Sicily?

Unreserved Wine Talk

How can vines for wine thrive in Mount Etna’s rocky, volcanic soils on the island of Sicily? Mount Etna is a perpetual baby in terms of its vineyard soils; constant rejuvenation of the soil through ash and lava impacts the vine's health and the resulting grape characteristics. The lava flows are centuries old and vary widely. So, how would a producer choose one flow over another for planting? How does Mount Etna still have pre-phylloxera vines that are over 200 years old?

In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Ben Spencer, the award-winning author of The New Wines of Mount Etna.

You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks

Highlights

Why did Ben find Fabio Costantino of Terra Costantino such a fascinating and emblematic person from Etna’s wine community?

What is the landscape of Mount Etna like, and what makes it unique and beautiful?

How do producers on Etna choose which lava flow to plant on?

What does it look like to grow grapes in a place as fertile as on Etna?

How do Etna wines compare with other volcanic wines?

Are field blends of different grape varieties still common in Etna’s vineyards?

How does Nerello Mascalese compare to Pinot Noir grapes?

Why is Nerello Cappuccio mostly used in blends rather than as a single varietal wine?

How does Carricante, Etna’s signature white grape, develop the kerosene or petrol aroma often found in aged Riesling?

What were some of the oldest vines Ben has seen on Mount Etna?

How can you get the most out of a trip to Etna?

Who would Ben love to share a bottle of wine with?

Key Takeaways

How can vines for wine thrive in Mount Etna’s rocky, volcanic soils on the island of Sicily?

It's very, very fertile and you can plant just about anything. The vines are only part of that biodiversity. You can put a grafted vine selection, masala, cutting from your own vineyard into the earth. What it taps into will sort of define what that vine will be. We see 95% of the vines take because the soil is so fertile.

Mount Etna's lava flows are centuries old and vary widely. How would a producer choose one flow over another for planting?

Sometimes it's a simple budgetary decision or a farming decision, whether to take over an old vine vineyard or to buy something and replant new vines, whether you want to face the contours of the mountain, or if you want to ease into it with tractor or some sort of mechanized labor, not that many producers do much more than use a tractor in the vineyard, it's very difficult to use heavy machinery on it, and everybody harvests by hand. But certain contrada, certain lava flows, the age of the soil, the slope, east, north, south, they have different flavors. They have different spices, and it's all that lasagna layering of the mountain. It has its own style.

How does Mount Etna still have pre-phylloxera vines that are over 200 years old?

On Etna, we don't have a lot of clay. So we do have these very, very old vines. The soils need about 3% clay to incubate phylloxera over the winter. And so the soil isn't old enough to have that much clay in it. There's also the snow up at elevation, so it's just inhospitable to the louse. But the oldest vines that I've seen are either Nerello Mascalese or possibly Minnella. The trunks can get really, really big. They can get really long. They look like they're prehistoric.

About Benjamin Spencer

Benjamin Spencer is the Director of Etna Wine School and the award-winning author of The New Wines of Mount Etna. In addition to holding a Diploma from the London-based Wine & Spirit Education Trust, Ben is a journalist, wine judge, and a professional winemaker with two decades of experience working with artisan and internationally traded wine brands in California and Italy.

To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/353.