Etna has produced eruptions of vast dimensions throughout its geological history, all of them have helped shape the landscape as we know it today and contributed to the birth of our wines, such as the Etna Rosso DOC Feudo di Mezzo.
The eruption of 1879 represents one of the most significant eruptive phenomena of the Etna territory of the 19th century both at geological basis as for the peculiarity of having produced lateral outflows (and not the more common summit-type) also for the attention paid by scientists, journalists and curious from all over the world!
The eruption of Mt. Etna on May 26, 1879 occurred on two sides of the volcano, the North-East side and the opposite Southern-West. While on this last side the eruption lasted only two days, the cratere on the North-East side erupted until June 7th, so eleven days, producing more than 10-kilometer long flow that interrupted the main communication routes, also causing significant damages to the village of Passopisciaro (a quarter of Castiglione di Sicilia), blocking the main road between Randazzo and Linguaglossa, until reaching the Alcantara river, thus threatening even the village of Mojo Alcantara.
The desire to start over, combined with the strong spirit of being linked to their own roots, led the families at that time to resume cultivation of the fields where possible and thus, to re-design a new geography for the vineyards that we still find today.
Just beside a strip of land interested by those historical and massive lava flowing, we have inherited that vineyard located in Feudo di Mezzo district (hamlet of Passopisciaro) at 750 meters above sea level, ultra-centenary parcel with an extension of 3.74 hectares and totally made up of ungrafted vines. This is a true iconic symbol of the Northern slope of Etna’s tradition and heritage.
One of the most interesting feature of this vineyard is the 1.10 x 1.10 m “quincunx” layout as vines planting system that gives birth to such harmonious grid of rhombuses capable of obtaining the maximum exploitation of the surface furthermore by embellishing the symmetrical aesthetics of that field. The vineyard lines the ferrous compounds of those historic lava flowing dated 1879, it has arranged on several terraces bordered by dry lava stone walls, definitely represents the most authentic expression of the Etna’s viticulture heritage. With the wanting to detail and go more in depth on its soil composition, here we also find volcanic sand with subacid reaction that rises to a fertile plot so rich in micro-elements, a decisive fact along the standard of quality, as well as organoleptic results, of our Etna Rosso “Feudo di Mezzo”.
The vintage 2021, we’re currently marketing on the markets, shows a organoleptic profile rich of wild aromatic herbs, that we often find on the grassy soil on this parcel, very intense notes of cherry and ripe fruits, a spicy note of pepper while on the palate releases such a complex texture, enriched by volume and a decise but well-integrated tannin which allow us to obtain a proper and nice balance.
A true elegant wine with such fascinating storytelling already present in the best restaurant’s wine lists as well as the most renowned retail shops, in many countries all around the world!
