Vinupetra Rosso DOC 2024

The Vinupetra Rosso DOC 2024 is a dry red wine from Etna, grown at 700 metres above sea level in a single small parcel. Vinupetra means "wine from stone", and the wine takes the name seriously: Mediterranean warmth, channelled into a straight course by spice and fine tannin. 14.0% ABV.

The grapes come from the Calderara vineyard in the Porcheria district. The parcel covers 0.5 hectares, the vines average over 100 years of age, trained in the Alberello Etneo bush-vine system and planted at a density of 10,000 vines per hectare. The estate's vineyards sit on black soils of cooled lava, volcanic ash and sand.

The vineyard is planted as a mixed field blend of the indigenous varieties Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Alicante and Francisi; the grape varieties listed for the wine are Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Grenache. Work is done by hand and exclusively with natural products. In the cellar, Salvo Foti forgoes temperature control, artificial yeasts and filtration; fermentation proceeds spontaneously with wild yeasts, and ageing takes place in neutral vessels such as used wooden barrels or cement tanks.

The attack is powerful and juicy, carried by extract-rich dark fruit and a spicy finish. The tannins are fine-grained and tight-knit, giving the wine its grip, which reins in the fruit's abundance. The ripe acidity stays in the background, holding everything together. Despite the warmth, the wine retains a transparent silkiness, with fine spice in the long, fruit-driven finish.

In the vineyards of I Vigneri there are no iron posts, no concrete pillars and no wires, only chestnut stakes from Etna. Racking and bottling follow the phases of the moon.