Terrazze dell'Etna, Nerello Mascalese & Nerello Cappuccino "Carusu" Etna Rosso, Sicily, Italy 2021

80% Nerello Mascalese, 20% Nerello Cappuccio

Elegant and spiced in the nose, with delicate notes of varnish and ripe red fruit and spice. The tannins are round and soft with a slightly ethereal finish.

Excellent with well-seasoned red or white meat. Accompanies perfectly medium aged cheese, fish soup and tuna.

The Terrazze dell’Etna winery was founded in 2008 by Nino Bevilacqua, an engineer from Palermo, when legendary Italian winemaker Riccardo Cotarella helped him to plan and build this extraordinary property. Stretching over 36 hectares including a mix of vineyards, olive trees, cherry trees, chestnut trees, and oaks, the estate grows all of its own grapes at altitudes that range from 600-950 meters above sea level — some of the highest-lying vineyards in the world.

The name of the winery was inspired by the traditional terracing method (terrazza means terrace in Italian) that the Bevilacqua family revived when it purchased the farm more than a decade ago. Although the family also grows some international varieties for its classic method sparkling wines, here the focus is on the native Nerello family of red grapes, Nerello Mascalease (the primary grape used in Etna wines) and Nerello Cappuccio.

All the farming is done by hand and the estate uses integrated farming, including a variety of crops and livestock, to enhance biodiversity. The soils are volcanic in nature, produced over the centuries by Mt. Etna in the distance. The winemaking style is traditional, with minimal intervention to create one of the appellation purest expressions.