2021 Vigneti Vecchio 'Sciare Vive' Carricante (Etna) Sicilia IGT

90% Carricante, 10% indigenous varieties (Minnella, Inzolia, Grecancico, Catarratto) 40-100yr old vines, spontaneous fermentation 

Rich, chamomile, yellow apple skin, mandarin, hazelnut…it's certainly golden hued, but not an overly extracted orange wine for the sake of being orange. The skin contact is intentional which adds a character and charm we don't often see on Etna- it unabashedly marches to the beat of its own drum, and I am here for it! I keep coming back to roasted chicken with fennel and mandarins…would be one helluva pairing. 

 3 day skin maceration in stainless steel tank
• Must is pressed, then primary and malolactic fermentation in 3- to 4-year-old 500-L oak barrels; natural fermentation
• Aged 7 months in 3- to 4-year-old 500-L oak barrels on lees
• Racked off lees into stainless steel tank 1 month before bottling, then aged in bottle for 1 month; wine is neither fined nor filtered
• Does not receive Etna Bianco DOC because one parcel is located just outside the appellation boundary

Carmelo Vecchio and his wife, Rosa La Guzza, did not come from afar to make wine on Etna: they are true locals, raised in the heart of the vineyards. Carmelo began working at the nearby Passopisciaro winery at a young age, and after fifteen years of hands-on experience, the time came to strike out on his own. From barely one hectare of vines up to 130 years old inherited from Rosa’s family, the couple took matters into their own hands: sustainable farming by hand, with the goal of achieving an elegant balance in the grapes; micro-vinifications in the tiny cellar beneath their home, with respect for tradition and terroir; and aging the wines in used barrels before bottling without fining or filtration.

Armed with excellent raw materials along with Carmelo's years of experience and an appreciation for ancient local practices such as skin maceration for whites and blending white grapes into the reds, Rosa and Carmelo succeeded in crafting delicate, pure, and highly refined wines from their inaugural 2016 harvest. While Etna still searches for its identity, Vigneti Vecchio demonstrates that this towering volcano rising from the Mediterranean can in fact produce wines as beautifully nuanced as anywhere else in Italy.