Le Contrade dell’Etna is an event conceived of and established in 2007 by Andrea Franchetti to promote the mountain’s local grape nerello mascalese. When it first began, he invited a group of wine producers from Mt. Etna to share barrel samples of their latest vintage at his estate Passopisciaro, and from there the event has taken off. It has taken place every year since with great success, and the event grows each year as the number of producers making wine on Etna has also grown.
Old vine nerello mascalese in Contrada Porcaria (l). The amphitheater of Contrada Guardiola (c). Lush cover crops in Contrada Chiappemacine after rain (r).
The Contrade are ancient property names that align with the millennia of lava flows on Etna that, with regards to wine, have come to represent Etna’s own version of a cru. Each one produces a different taste of wine because of the different mineral origin of their soils and, more importantly, because of the grain that the lava had broken into during its cooling process: sand, gravel, powder, or rock.
Le Contrade dell’Etna 2019 will take place the weekend after Vinitaly. This year, the event is expanding to two days: on Sunday the 14th, producers will be showing the current 2018 vintage en primeur, while on Monday the 15th, they will be showing their wines which are already in the market.
Please download the invitation and bring with you to the event for entry.
DETAILS
Sunday April 14th and Monday April 15th
9:00 am – 17:00 pm
Castello Romeo, Via Montelaguardia, 15, 95036 Randazzo CT, Italy
