Vinupetra Rosso DOC 2020

The Vinupetra Rosso DOC 2020 comes from the lava slopes of Etna and carries its terroir in its name: Vinupetra means wine from stone. At 13.5% Vol. it remains medium-bodied and dry, a red wine built on freshness and clarity rather than power.

The vineyards of I Vigneri lie on Etna, Europe's highest active volcano, at altitudes of up to 1200 metres. The soils are black and mineral-rich, formed from cooled lava, volcanic ash and sand. They lend the estate's wines an almost saline freshness and great complexity.

Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, the native varieties of Etna, stand here alongside Grenache. The vines grow in Alberello Etneo, the historic bush-vine training system declared a UNESCO World Heritage practice: each vine is tended individually by hand, supported only by chestnut stakes from the mountain, without iron posts, concrete pillars or wire. The old vines, often ungrafted, yield only small quantities. Vinification takes place in the historic palmento, fermentation with wild yeasts, and ageing in used wooden barrels and cement tanks.

Wild cherry, strawberry and raspberry, along with dried herbs and fine spice. The wine remains juicy, the acidity carries it through, the tannins are finely drawn, and the finish shows the saline minerality of the lava soils.

Pasta alla Norma with aubergine and salted ricotta, caponata, arancini or grilled vegetables with pecorino. Equally good with tuna or swordfish steak, lamb ragout, herb-roasted chicken and aged cheese.

Salvo Foti rejects chemical intervention and works in the cellar with neutral vessels that add nothing to the grapes. Bottling takes place in Randazzo.