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Etna – winemakers' honeypot

Alberello Nerello vines in Graci vineyard

See my tasting notes from this year's Contrade dell'Etna. 

Last April the ninth edition of the hugely popular Contrade dell’Etna took place in Passopisciaro (see here for Jancis’s inaugural report on the first edition). Originally the brainchild of Andrea Franchetti, who encouraged Etna producers to show their new vintage to national and international press in situ, he had the stroke of genius to organise the tasting according to contrada

Contrade (singular contrada) are the subzones or hamlets on Etna, where its vineyards lie, and at the tasting producers were grouped to represent each subzone, cleverly suggesting an...