Giò Emmanuele Vini

Every eruption of Sicily’s Mount Etna lays down a new flow, which in time breaks down into the soil with its own mineral composition, grain and depth. The result is a wine treasure trove; a mountain divided into 142 contrade, drawn along the boundaries of ancient lava flows, where two sites a few hundred metres apart can produce radically different wines. 

Giò Emmanuele is a small operation on those slopes, run by two young cousins who took on the vineyards from their grandfather. They describe themselves as part of a new generation of Etna growers, and their wines are made in deliberately boutique quantities, using sustainable methods and with a mission to create wines that honestly reflect their corner of the famous mountain.

Vines here are grown on terraces held up by dry-stone lava walls, at altitudes that in places pass a thousand metres. The soils farmed by Giò Emmanuele are predominantly sandy, full of coarse fragments and organic matter, and they drain freely. Combine this with altitude, cool air and wide diurnal temperature swings, and you get the kind of well-defined, taut and aromatic wines that you’d more commonly find at much cooler latitudes. It’s the perfect environment for Nerello Mascalese, the late-ripening native red that has made Etna’s reputation; a pale, high-acid, tannic grape that performs best under stress.

Giò Emmanuele’s range reads like a who’s who of the Etna DOC, including a white built on Carricante, fermented and held in steel for over a year before bottling, and a Nerello Mascalese rosa, given six months in tank. The winemaking is classic and traditional, with long settling and minimal intervention, for a clear expression of the terroir.