Carricante and Etna Bianco

Ask most people about Etna and they will talk about Nerello Mascalese, the red grape behind the wines that made the mountain famous. But some of the people who know Etna best will tell you its greatest wine is white. Decanter has called Carricante the most age-worthy grape on the volcano, and a good Etna Bianco can keep improving for well over a decade.

The grape

Carricante is a Sicilian native grown almost nowhere except Etna. Its name is usually traced to the Italian caricare, to load, a nod to the heavy crops it gives if left to itself.

It ripens late, often in mid-October, and keeps its acidity even at full ripeness. That freshness is the backbone of the wine. Young Etna Bianco tends to smell of citrus and aniseed, with a salty, stony edge. With age it gains depth and texture, often with a hint of almond.

Traditionally it was grown on the east side of the mountain, where the climate was too cool and wet for Nerello Mascalese to ripen well. In the last ten years it has spread to the north and south-west slopes too, often at altitudes of 900 metres or more.

The rules

Etna was the first DOC in Sicily, created in 1968. For Etna Bianco, the rules ask for at least 60% Carricante, with up to 40% Catarratto and small amounts of other local white grapes, such as Minnella, allowed alongside.

Etna Bianco Superiore is stricter. It needs at least 80% Carricante, and the grapes have to come from the comune of Milo. In practice most Superiore wines are 90% Carricante or more. It is a tiny category, making up only a small fraction of all Etna wine.

Why Milo

Milo sits on the east slope, facing the Ionian Sea, with its vineyards at roughly 700 to 850 metres. It gets more rain than anywhere else on Etna, and the sea breezes dry the vines quickly afterwards. Days in late summer are warm, nights are cool, and the grapes ripen slowly. That combination suits Carricante perfectly.

Milo is also small. Its delimited vineyards amount to about 56 hectares, all now planted, and only a handful of producers are actually based there, which helps explain why Superiore is hard to find.

Milo’s contrade include Caselle, Rinazzo, Villagrande, Pianogrande and Fornazzo, and you will see several of those names on labels.

Bottles to look for

Benanti, Pietra Marina. The wine that put Etna Bianco Superiore on the map. The first vintage was 1990, made from old bush vines in Contrada Rinazzo, Milo, and it spends 30 months on its lees before release. Older vintages still drink beautifully.

Barone di Villagrande. One of the oldest names on the mountain: the family title dates from 1727, and the estate in Milo has made wine for generations. Organic since 1989, with vineyards at about 700 metres.

I Vigneri, Palmento Caselle. From Salvo Foti’s group of growers, made from Carricante in Contrada Caselle, Milo, with a little Minnella in the vineyard. The name comes from an old lava-stone palmento on the site.

Pietradolce, Archineri Etna Bianco. From very old vines in Contrada Caselle at around 850 metres.

Tenuta di Fessina, A’ Puddara. A Carricante from Biancavilla on the south-west slope, at about 900 metres, which shows how good the grape can be away from Milo.

Planeta, Eruzione 1614. A Carricante from the north slope, named after the long eruption whose lava stopped at the edge of the vineyard. It is labelled Sicilia DOC rather than Etna.

The other grapes

Catarratto is Sicily’s most planted white grape and can make up as much as 40% of an Etna Bianco, adding body and a softer texture. Minnella is an old Etna variety, early-ripening and named after the Sicilian word for breast because of the shape of its berries. It is rarely bottled on its own but turns up in old mixed vineyards.

A white on the rise

Etna Bianco is growing faster than the red. The Consorzio’s figures show production rising from about 9,150 hectolitres in 2019 to more than 17,000 in 2023, before a dry 2024 brought it back to around 14,600. In that time white went from roughly half the volume of Etna Rosso to about three quarters, and the Consorzio’s director has said white could soon match it.

Serving it

Serve Etna Bianco cool rather than ice cold, around 10 to 12°C, and give the older ones a little air. It loves seafood: grilled fish, prawns, shellfish risotto and Sicilian classics such as stuffed sardines. It also works with white meat, young cheeses and, in autumn, porcini.

If you only ever drink young Etna Bianco, try to find an older bottle of Superiore. Ten years on, it is a very different and very special wine.

For what to eat with it on the mountain, read Eating on Etna. To find the producers, use our winery directory.