Barone di Villagrande, Nerello Mascalese & Carricante, Etna Rosato, Sicily, Italy 2021

The first emotion is visual: the color that turns from rosy blush to intense warm yellow evokes sunny sensations. Its freshness of the Barone di Villagrande Etna Rosato slides lightly on the various flavors.

Pairing: Perfect as aperitivo, served with fried dishes. tuna in olive oil, caponata and tomato-based first courses.

Villagrande is not only the noble title: is the name of the contrada in Milo where my family has been living for more than 300 years. We are on the eastern slope of Etna that overlooks Taormina and the Ionian Sea. We are at 700 metres above the sea level. Here the climate is far from being Sicilian. Here the climate is Etnean. Temperatures and precipitations are affected by the volcanic activity and the altitude. In autumn and winter, we reach ten times more rain than the rest of Sicily. In winter and at the beginning of the germination, minimum temperatures can reach values below 0° C being dangerous for the vines. In summer maximum temperatures are never as high as in the rest of Sicily, and rain is almost absent. This absence of humidity is accentuated by the field’s slope, deeply draining due to its igneous origin. The huge thermal excursion between day and night is a real blessing for these grapes as it reaches even 30° C. This results in a lower alcohol content compared to the average of Sicilian wines, with a peculiar richness in fixed acidity and extracts.