Tenute Dei Ciclopi
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“I was born in Catania, right at the foot of the volcano. Tenute dei Ciclopi is for me a way of telling the profound bond that unites me to a land and a community".
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"I like to mix the age-old Sicilian culinary and gastronomic tradition with the recipes and spices of the many peoples who have crossed the Mediterranean over the centuries".
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"I met the first Nerello Mascalese vine when I was 3 years old, in my family's country house in Nicolosi, on the southern slope of the Volcano: Tenute dei Ciclopi was already part of my life."
The vineyards are located in Castiglione di Sicilia and Randazzo, on the northern side of Etna, and in Milo, on the eastern side and sit in the tongues of pitch-black lava stone that were formed in 1981 during the "Randazzo eruption" when the fissures opened at 1,165 meters above sea level just a few hundred meters from the vineyards. The microclimate is unique, not only for the thermoregulatory effect of the sea less than 20 km away, but also for that of the nearby Alcantara river which flows in the valley separating Etna from the Nebrodi mountains and it is this that, in part, gives their wines a special anundeniable quality that could only come from here. Guided by Salvo Foti, the winemaker who refound Etna viticulture, all of the wines are produced using traditional cultivation techniques with strictly manual harvests. The company's wines are all Etna DOC and made exclusively from native grape varieties such as Nerello Mascalese and Carricante. The production is currently made up of five wines: Etna Rosso, Etna Bianco and Etna Rosato as well as two riserva wines Etna Rosso Contrada Feudo di Mezzo and Etna Rosso piede franco quota 900.
The Label
Somewhere between myth and reality the Cyclopes narrate the thousand-year-old culture of Etna. According to Greek mythology the Cyclopes, children of the God Hephaestus and gifted with only one eye, inhabited the black lands of Etna working in the belly of the volcano building thunderbolts for Zeus and forging other magical works such as Achilles' armor. For their labour they reaped the crops and harvested the vines that the land produced in plenty and spontaneously, the Nerello Mascalese and Carricante from which Tenute dei Ciclopi makes its wine today and bears the emblem of the Cyclopes on the label of every bottle.
Volcano, Vineyard and Vinitaly
At 3,369 meters, Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe.
In winter the volcano is filled with snow, and the high white peaks, often shrouded in cloud, are visible for miles around. In spite of the altitude, the climate is mediterranean and free of severe temperature fluctuations.
In the ancient disused craters characterised by deep depressions, mankind has, over the centuries, given rise to heroic viticulture. The lava flows know cooled, lap the vineyards which are clambering over the heights thanks to the teraces, called 'custeri' in Sicilian, built by man from dry, lava stone after lava stone.
Viticulture on Etna is an act of courage and a gesture of love. The volcano itself reciprocates this sentiment by offereing a wine that is strongly territorial, as well as distinctive.
Perpetually active, "A Muntagna" (the mountain) now typically erupts two or three times each year, painting the sky red and the streets black with more than 500,000 tons of ash and pyroclastic material. This lava, and a constant rain of black sand, goes to work as a natural fertilizer enriching the soil and drawing a unique territory from which comes wines that are unmistakable and expressive with every years' vintage.
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Etna Rosé
Shop Etna Rosé...Ruby red with garnet rim. On the nose, hints of blood orange, juniper and tamarind on a magmatic background of graphite; vegetal notes, musk, tobacco leaf and liquorice root follow with leather, eucalyptus, rosemary and caper. This wine has along persistent finish with a slight spiciness of black pepper, carob and cloves balanced with red cherry.
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Etna Bianco
Shop Etna Bianco...Straw yellow with golden flashes. Intense mineral notes of rock salt, pumice stone and sulphurous scents well integrated with green mandarin peel, cedar, yellow plums, orange blossom, and chamomile. Ends with elegant balsamic hints of oregano and capers. Soft, full and balanced, with great freshness supported by a vibrant sapidity.
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Etna Rosato
Shop Etna Rosato...From volcanic sands comes this exceptional rosato wine. Short skin contact, 8 days fermentation and 6 months rest in steel results in this rose gold colour wine with coppery reflections. On the nose it has hints of blood orange peel, violet, freesias and peach blossom. On the palette it is fresh and elegant with a warm citrus and saline finish.
