VintageA harsh winter with few rains was followed by a spring characterized by mild days and temperatures above the seasonal average; this weather pattern brought forward the vegetative growth by a few days ahead of the historical average. From June until August warm days and the lack of rainfall led to a major advance in the early stages of ripening of the grapes. After the end of August some rains and the lowering of temperatures it has presented to the grapes the possibility to lengthen the maturation and allowed to reach a good degree of ripeness maintaining freshness and fragrance. 2016 vintage is definitely one of the best in recent years for harmony and subtlety, a year where elegance prevails on concentration.

Vintage2017 began much like the finish of the 2016 vintage, with a rainy autumn and an early winter with cold temperatures; this resulted in a delayed development of foliage by about two weeks. However, spring had favorable weather conditions which completely canceled the delay in the vegetative phases of the plants. Hot temperatures and sudden changes in temperature characterized a particularly dry summer, although in proportion less than what was simultaneously happening in Central and Northern Italy. Surely the 2017 vintage was complicated from this point of view, however the slowdown of the vegetation due to the scarcity of water received from the vines, combined with a targeted and precise viticulture, allowed Nerello Mascalese to produce wines that are neither overripe nor too high in alcohol content.

VintageAfter the previous vintage's drought, the winter was characterized by low temperatures and in many cases abundant snowfall. This trend resulted in a delay of bud break by about 10 days later than average. Even during the flowering stage, there was frequently rainfall and cool temperatures; this resulted in a limited and already naturally balanced production load. The vegetation developed well despite the initial delay through to veraison and ripening. This delay persisted even with the harvest that took place about 14 days later than the average of previous years and has been characterized by much precipitation, even during August and September. In the final stages of the harvest the climate stabilized and this allowed an extended ripening and harvest of grapes with good aromatic properties.

VintageAfter two almost opposite vintages, 2019 turned out to be a typical Etna vintage, with slight rainfall also recorded in summer on the vineyards that are located over 600 meters above sea level, and with the usual temperature changes between day and the night. This helped refresh the grapes and enhance their aromaticity, in particular for the Nerello Mascalese, which was harvested in the second ten days of October. The resulting wines are fragrant and with very fine and integrated tannins, and above all with a great evolutionary potential.

VintageIn all seasons of the 2020 vintage we recorded a regular trend of vegetation and ripening. It is one of those vintages in which it is sufficient to simply observe the evolution of Nature, and accompany it until the days of the harvest. The climatic conditions on the Northern slope, always well ventilated and except from excessive rainfall, allowed us to obtain a slow and perfect ripening of the grapes, including skins and pips. We started harvesting Nerello Mascalese on the 20th of October. The wines of this vintage will be of the highest quality and finesse.

VintageThe winter was not particularly harsh except for a brief and sudden frost in March which fortunately did not cause serious damage to our vineyards; during the spring and summer the vines were severely tested by the heat and drought which resulted in considerable hydric stress, mitigated only by the cool breezes typical of the Northern slope. In autumn, with the arrival of the rains, the vines recovered and the clusters ripened prematurely thanks to the mild temperatures and the significant temperature variations between day and night. All these conditions and the careful and constant measurement of the sugar content of the grapes, led us to decide to harvest each variety a few days earlier than usual, to safeguard its freshness and prevent the alcoholic strength of the wine from rising, so as to keep correct also acidity and pH, in addition to the desired phenolic and aromatic ripeness.

VintageA decidedly dry season until mid-August, until the almost constant rainfall in the following weeks reinvigorated the vines and completed a vegetative cycle that otherwise would have suffered greatly from the scorching temperatures. The green harvest, especially on the younger and more vigorous vineyards, meant that for a variety like Carricante - which is indeed productive but also very crunchy and acidic - physiological ripening was reached in perfect timing with the usual standards for the varietal, which is never precocious like other grapes of the area (for example Moscato Bianco or Grecanico). The result should be a very harmonious Etna Bianco 2022 with aromatic complexity. Even Nerello Mascalese is not a variety that is harvested in September, on the contrary, this year too we have reached the second ten days of October to bring it to vinification, so it has had more time to reinvigorate itself after the dry summer. The luck for the vineyards of Feudo di Mezzo, where some vines are also prephylloxera, is that winds blow there which clean and refresh the vineyards when the sun goes down, also acting as a natural treatment for the vines. In fact, it's a bit of a non-secret on the northern side

VintageThe climate trend of the winter 2022/23 was characterised by mild temperatures, rarely below 0° Celsius and with rainfall decidedly below-average. Also these particularly mild conditions influenced the phenological phases of the vine: budburst occurred about a week earlier than average. On the other hand, the Spring season was particularly cool and rainy with rainfall of almost 400 millimetres, well above the average for the period. Flowering therefore happened under fairly extreme conditions and with a certain delay. Frequent rains slowed down - and in some cases hindered - the course of pollination with a lower percentage of berries set. In consequence the sparse bunches and fewer berries were both a guarantee of healthy grapes in a year where fungal diseases, favored by frequent rains, have created problems somehow linked to downy mildew attacks. However vineyards were only partially affected by fungal infections thank to careful biological protection with no damages during harvesting even thank to a very dry and summer: from July to September only 60 mm of rain fell so below the average for the season. Those climatic conditions, extreme in terms of both temperature and slightly water stressed in some cases, have made the previous advance got along budburst vained. In fact, veraison (as change of berries color and symptom of grapes ripening phase rush), was approximately two weeks later than the previous year. Quite rare but precious rains occurred in September provided a kind of resumption of grape ripening and thank to a rather mild October, the harvest began a few days later than average and healthy grapes were finally harvested. Only in a few cases, (due to younger vineyards) drought and water stress affect the the ripening of the grape clusters. Anyway a careful sorting of the grapes allowed to achieve the proper ripening ready for wine making. Production in general was lower - with a peak of -40% for the older vineyards of Nerello Mascalese – while Carricante on the other hand, it has given its flowering before the rains therefore it was less affected by the general loss of production occured.

VintageThe climate trend of the 2024 vintage was characterised by fairly mild temperatures. Although rainfall was slightly abundant - almost 600 mm of rain representing the average for the area – rains were poorly distributed in any case. The winter of 2023/24 was characterized by regular temperatures but with little rainfall. The sprouting happened a couple of days later than 2023. The rains were so heavy at the beginning of spring. Since May to be noted a drastic turning point that suddenly increased temperatures and with very little rainfall. Both of those conditions made faster the phenological phase of plants with flowering happened under ideal conditions, average for that period. To follow a very hot and dry June and especially July which brought vineyards to suffer from a slight water stress but with total absence of fungal diseases. Luckily August, and especially September (opposite if compared to 2023) rains ensured the proper intake of water that has made the grapes ripening ideal and regular also thank to a perfectly intact leafs conditions. The water ensured freshness as acidity composition of the grapes. The white grapes harvest began in the first week of October while the red grapes began in late October, a few days earlier than in 2023 with perfectly intact bunches. The yield in production per hectare were slightly higher for Nerello Mascalese, but in the average for Carricante. Afterwards rains of August and September have definitely influenced the regular ripening of bunches therefore the quality standard of wines produced showed and still doing so well.