Tornetore Etna Rosso 2017
Background
Mount Etna is a wine nerd’s dream. The region has a deep and interesting history and a confluence of all the geological and climatic conditions that make for great wine. Historically, the region paled in popularity when compared to Barolo, Chianti, and the other prestige wines of the north, but in the past 15 or 20 years the wine world has rightfully given Etna it’s place on the list of Italy’s greatest wines.
The terroir of Mount Etna is this amaing combination of four different factors, that each alone would help to make good wine, but here they’re all working together, each imparting something cool on the final product. First factor is the latitude. If you think about Sicily, it’s basically as far south as you can go in central Europe before you run into Africa. The days and the growing season are longer and sunnier. This gives the thin-skinned Narello grapes a chance to get fully ripe. They get ripe but not TOO ripe because of the second factor, the high elevation. Tornetore’s vineyards are 1000meters above sea level. The days may be hot, but the thin air up on the mountain cools quickly at night, which keeps the fresh-fruit acid in the grape.
The other two elements of Etna’s terroir have to do with the minerality in the wine. First, most of the vineyards on the mountain are only a few kilometers from the Mediterranean, so as the mountain grew through all the Volcanic eruptions, it was constantly being whipped by the salty air from the sea. This is particularly evident in Etna’s white wines, but it imparts the same salty minerality in the reds too. The other major mineral influencer is the volcano itself. The sulphur and carbon-heavy soils tend to show themselves with a savory, smoky mineral profile in the wine.
Beyond all the cool environmental stuff happening here, there’s a ton of history. The island of Sicily has been invaded or conquered by literally every large power in the area. Winemaking was kept alive by monks high on Mount Etna through all of it. Being historically ignored economically and social by modern Italy led to the rise of organized crime and it’s involvement in the wine production (Narello was shipped north to be used as counterfeit Barolo). There’s a lot to read about here for people who are into politics, history, farming… We hope you find Mount Etna as interesting as we do!
Tasting Notes
Tornatore is one of the regions best makers. They’ve been farming Narello grapes on the north slope of the mountinan since 1865. Everything here is hand harvested, fermented at cool temperatures for 15 days in concrete tanks (so the wine can breathe). Then the wine is aged in old French oak for a full year before release. Wild red and black fruit, exotic spice GREAT minerality. A light-bodied wine with great depth. Could rival a really nice Pinot Noir or Nebbiolo.
Food Pairing
Lamb Burgers – beef is fine, but red rustic red wines with ‘wild’ spice flavours are really awesome with lamb. You can match the strong flavours with goat cheese or hot peppers on the burger.
Miss Vickie’s Applewood Smoked BBQ – For this combo, put a little chill on the wine. The fake smoke flavour in the chips highlights the smoky minerality in the wine. But because this is such a chip-friendly wine, we’re also recommending it with:
Miss Vickie’s Garlic Parmesan – Again, this is a pairing to highlight the salty minerality of the wine. Plus, red fruit flavours go really well with sharp cheese flavours like parm.
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