2021 Frank Cornelissen 'Munjebel' Bianco Sicilia IGT

A short period of skin contact renders this rich wine golden in color. White nectarine, yellow peach, quince and a herbal dried oregano note, finishing with a lick of flint. 

Frank is the owner of 19 hectares of vines on the northern slopes of Mount Etna. He produced his first wine in 2001 when he started with only 0.40 hectares of vines. He is obsessive over details in an effort to make wines that truly express terroir with perspective. He is a meticulous vineyard worker and keeps an extremely clean and organized cellar, both extremely important considering Frank’s wines are Minimally Manipulated  to  the extreme (some say natural)–minimal use of sulfur (sometimes zero sulfur additions in certain vintages), no additives, no temperature control, and no fining or filtering (beyond racking and coarse mesh filtering). He works without the use of herbicides, pesticides, nor any other chemicals.

Location: communes of Randazzo and Castiglione di Sicilia on Mt. Etna (North)
Vineyards: Calderara, Crasà and Picciolo
Varietals: Grecanico Dorato 50%, Carricante 50%
Average age of vines: 30+ years
Vinification: Destemming and light crushing of the grapes
Fermentation: skin maceration with only indigenous yeasts for approximately 3 days
Aging: In neutral epoxy tanks from 1500 liters to 4500 liters for about 16 months
Filtering: Before bottling with PP cartridges of 0,8 micron
Sulphur: values can vary from 15 to 50 mg/l., added or not, depending on the quality of grapes and stability of the wine.
Annual production: 10.000 bottles