Volcanic Vino is 🔥🌋
You’ve heard the word ‘terroir’, not to be confused with the dog, which is French and describes the unique character of the land. This is an important concept in the world of wine because where a grape grows is as important, if not more so, than how the wine is produced.
Iteration and experimentation over time is something that makes us human, and it’s a big part of why we have so many incredible wines today. I don’t know who first tried planting vineyards on the side of an active volcano, but I guess there’s a first person for everything — flying a plane, brain surgery, eating Marmite — and I raise a glass to you!
If you’re feeling frisky and experimental, skip 50 Shades and give Pietradolce Etna Rosso a try. At $36.74 and hailing from a single vineyard on the stony Northern slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, this wine is grown at over 1,000m making it one of the highest vineyards in Europe situated on the continent’s tallest active volcano.
This bottle is vibrant and intense with incredible minerality, and a remarkably potent uplifted floral and red fruit nose. On the palate is brushwood, strawberry, sour cherry and currant, as well as the slightest nod to three months in lightly toasted French oak barrels.
Volcanic wines, as they are called, are outstanding across the board with this wine leading the pack. Don’t let the light colour and medium body fool you, it has intense character. Made with 100% Nerello Mascalese (say it with conviction using your hands and you’ll be fine), also called Niureddu or Negrello, the grape gets its name from the black colour of its skin. As the offspring of Italy’s famous Sangiovese and Mantonico Bianco varietals, Nerello often reflects its surroundings, giving taught, fresh wines with an earthy nuance.
Vino from Italy’s extreme North and far South are somehow similar despite vastly different terroir. If you love the wines of Barolo (Nebbiolo) and Burgundy (Pinot Noir), you will enjoythe reminiscent perfumed nose of Nerello in the same way as its noble counterparts. Volcanic wines grown at elevation seldom have the excessive weight in body and ABV of their sun-drenched low-elevation counterparts.
Pietradolce is a fabulous food wine, standing up to bold dishes including chicken in red wine sauce, wild mushroom and eggplant, as well as tomato pastas. It can also compliment heartier appetizers and seafood dishes. If you go too light with your cuisine, this wine will dominate it. See, no need for 50 Shades!
I’d usually offer a money back guarantee, but if you don’t like this wine it’s either because it’s corked of you’re wrong. Bottoms up and enjoy!
