Nerello Mascalese: Wine Grown on a Living Volcano

Some of the most exciting red wine in Italy is being made on the side of a volcano that is, right now, actively erupting. Mount Etna in Sicily is alive — it spews ash and lava regularly — and on its black volcanic slopes grows Nerello Mascalese, a grape that turns all that danger into wines of stunning elegance. It's often called "Italy's Burgundy" or the Etna answer to Nebbiolo, and once it gets under your skin, ordinary reds feel a little boring.

Why the volcano matters

Etna's terror is its gift. The volcanic ash constantly renews the soil with minerals, and — here's the magical part — the inhospitable terrain meant phylloxera never wiped out the old vines. So on the high northern slopes around Randazzo you can still find ancient, ungrafted, bush-trained vines, some over a century old, growing on their original roots. Wine from living history, on a living mountain.

What it tastes like

Like Xinomavro and Nebbiolo, Nerello Mascalese pulls a trick: it's pale in the glass but powerful in the mouth. Expect silky-but-firm tannins, high refreshing acidity, vibrant red fruit, and a smoky, mineral, almost-salty edge from the volcanic soil. Altitude and that black earth give it a perfume and energy that's hard to forget. It ages beautifully, too.

A "prima donna" grape

Growers describe Nerello Mascalese as a prima donna — wildly sensitive to where and how it's grown, which is exactly why Etna's patchwork of altitudes and lava flows suits it so well. Each contrada (cru-like vineyard zone) tastes different. That obsessive, site-driven character is what's made Etna the most exciting wine region in Italy over the last two decades.

Bottles to look for

For an approachable start, look for Graci Etna Rosso, Tornatore, or Pietradolce. To go deeper, the cult names are Passopisciaro / Passopisciaro (Franchetti), Tenuta delle Terre Nere, and the wild natural wines of Frank Cornelissen. Decant the serious bottles; pair with roast meats, mushrooms, or hard Sicilian cheeses.

A red of real finesse, from ungrafted old vines on an erupting volcano, for less than a fancy Burgundy — that's the kind of overlooked greatness this whole site exists to find. A scored review will follow once I've tasted a few properly.

— Chris Berry