Philosophy

In our search for grapes, we wandered across from Etna to the Peloritani mountains, which extend the Nebrodi all the way to Taormina. Here you'll find the most spectacular views of Etna, as well as clay soils with layers of limestone, granite, sandstone and gneiss. This is where we found a small vineyard owned by a sturdy old lady bent like a wire. Here the sun shines and the white grapes (Cattarato, Zibibbo...) ripen a month before ours. So, at the end of August, we harvested the few grapes from his vineyard, then we destemmed them by hand directly into a demijohn and left them to macerate for a month. At the end of this period, we crushed them before putting the juice back into the demijohn for a year. The resulting orange wine is tannic, smooth and velvety, with floral, exotic and ripe fruit aromas such as apricot. No additives were used.

Enigma Resistenza means that the enigma is perhaps the most accessible form of resistance to the modern world. Today's social networks push for exhibition, and it has become suspicious not to say or show everything. But keeping our secrets is what makes us who we are. The same goes for our wines and the way they are made, some of which remain mysterious... making them impossible to reproduce identically.

Every year we make a Tutto Passa and every year fate dictates that we make it with a different vineyard. In 2023, since the previous year's vines had been decimated by mildew, we decided to make it with our pre-phylloxera vineyard, located at an altitude of 1,000 metres between Randazzo and Maletto, in contrada Nave. This wine is made from red and white grapes endemic to the area (Nerello Mascalese, Grenache, Cattarato, Carricante, Grecanico Dorato), which we destemmed and left to macerate in demijohns for a month, then pressed and aged in demijohns for a year. Light but structured, it first reveals petroleum aromas, then of Trousseau. Unbelievable ageing potential. No inputs.

Tutto passa expresses the impermanence of things. Sadness, joy, childhood, grief, difficulties, good times. We must know how to let them pass through us without holding them back. "We never bathe in the same river twice," as the old saying goes. He was right: we'll never drink the same Tutto Passa twice.

We visited this old vineyard planted by Signore Raiti on the northern slope of Etna, near Linguaglossa. Raiti is an apostle of natural wine; in fact, he offered us his first encapsulated cuvée, made in 1975. The vinification process was the same as for Enigma Resistenza. The grapes were destemmed and macerated in demijohns for a month. They were then pressed and left in demijohns for a year. We added a little Zibibbo and Cabernet Franc for the level. The result is a red wine of structure and elegance, with unexpected floral aromas and the characteristic peppery taste of Cabernet Franc. Easy to drink, good structure, lasts long after the bottle has been opened. No additives.

Sospensione dell’incredulità means Suspension of disbelief. It is the process by which we prepare ourselves to believe a story (a film, a play, a political speech...). It's when we let go of our scepticism and allow ourselves to become easily persuaded. Our wines of 2023 are chimeras, neither like their predecessors nor like their successors. They are a parenthesis in our work as winemakers, a kind of miraculous coincidence, and as such they require a suspension of disbelief.