My father taught me to respect the land and its fruits, he told me that we must support nature not try to counter it and change it.

The iconic structure of the winery itself is a historical palmento, a traditional Sicilian stone structure used for crushing grapes and fermenting wine.

It’s absolutely necessary because this is a tradition that we should never ever lose.

Since that year I wanted to come and make a vintage in Etna to learn the terroir, to learn the varieties and find some common points between the Canary Islands and Etna which are both volcanic.

Part of the reason why I came here, when I realized that I could get a piece of land, was the diversity of the altitude. And also, the old vines are very… they’re very old.

When I arrived here, I found Piemonte from the ‘80s, the ‘70s and I thought, “Wow, I found a new Piemonte!”

The alberello is a way to train the vines here on Etna, probably since the Greeks or the Romans. We use a chestnut pole like this one, and the vines then grow on it and it will support all the branches and it is well-ventilated. So, there is no barrier and you can access all the vines and not just the row with the wires in the middle.

There was a grape producer in Burgundy who said a thing that I think was very wise. He said, “Pinot Noir is not a great grape. Pinot Noir is a great grape in Burgundy.” So Nerello is not a great grape. It’s a great grape on Etna. Outside of Etna, it doesn’t deliver.