DOC Red

Pietradolce Etna Rosso

Pietradolce
Grape
Nerello Mascalese
Denomination
Etna DOC
Region
Sicily
ABV
14.5%
Drink
Now to 2029

Nerello Mascalese grown at 700-800 m around Solicchiata on Etna's north slope. Pale ruby, sour cherry and strawberry over smoky volcanic stone, taut acidity and fine savoury tannins. Three months in oak keeps it fragrant and food-ready.

Best price
£20.03

2024 · 75cl · checked 25 Oct · Delivery charged at checkout

8wines logo Buy at 8wines Compare 4 offers

Prices read daily from 4 UK retailers. We earn a commission on some links; it never changes the order.

Where to buy Pietradolce Etna Rosso

£20.03 best price · 4 retailers in stock · checked 25 Oct 2026

Stock is shown where the retailer publishes it, offers are sorted by price, and unavailable offers can’t be clicked.

8wines Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 25 Oct · Delivery charged at checkout Code NEWCUST8J: Enter NEWCUST8J to get £8 off with the minimum wine order of £88. Valid only for new customers, until 31 Dec 2027
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£20.03 £26.71/L
Buy
The Wine Society Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 25 Oct · Free UK delivery, members only
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£22.50 £30.00/L
Buy
XtraWine Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 25 Oct · Delivery charge shown at checkout
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£24.00 £32.00/L
Buy
Vino.com Best price Save 9% 2024 · 75cl · checked 25 Oct · Delivery usually £16.90, free on 6 bottles Code WINE6R8T: £17 off your first wine order with £180 minimum spend, until 13 Jan 2028
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£24.80 was regular price £27.25 £33.07/L
Buy

Stock status is read from each retailer’s page once a day and may lag.

Tasting Notes

Smoke, sour cherry, stone: tasting Pietradolce's Etna Rosso

Grown between 700 and 800 metres at Solicchiata, given two weeks on the skins and three months in light-toast oak. This is Pietradolce's statement of how fragrant pure Nerello Mascalese can be.

Tasted by
ItalianWines editorial
Tasted on
7 August 2026
Source
Drinker consensus · confidence Medium
Typical of Nerello Mascalese
Body Light / Full
Tannins Smooth / Grippy
Sweetness Dry / Sweet
Acidity Soft / Crisp
Nose

Sour cherry and strawberry lead, the red-fruit register that comes first, over the smoke and wet-stone signature of Solicchiata's volcanic sands. Pietradolce's own note adds the floral side: violet and dried rose lift the fruit rather than sweeten it.

SmokySmoky
Orange peelOrange peel
VioletViolet
CherryCherry
RaspberryRaspberry
StrawberryStrawberry
TobaccoTobacco
Wet stonesWet stones
Black pepperBlack pepper
Palate

Taut and energetic, exactly what a 700-800 m north-slope site gives. Etna DOC demands at least 5 grams a litre of acidity and this wine wears it brightly. Two weeks on the skins in the estate's 40 hl concrete vats build fine, savoury tannin without weight. The frame is medium-bodied, with an iron-tinged, stony undertow.

Finish

White pepper and orange peel edge the close, with three months in light-toast oak leaving polish rather than flavour, as the estate intends. Tannins grip gently and the stony, salty note lingers longest.

Overall

The entry point to Pietradolce's range, below the old-vine Archineri and the named-vineyard wines: a well-liked red, with the 2021 the best-liked year. Drinkers consistently praise its Pinot-like elegance and volcanic edge; the few gripes are that it needs food or an hour open, which is fair. Drink within about five years of harvest.

Drink now Best by 2028
Live UK pricing

Where to buy Pietradolce Etna Rosso in the UK

Three retailers currently sell it, from £16.72 for the 2024. The Wine Society's £22 price for the same vintage is the benchmark to beat.

Best price · 75 cl · 2024 £20.03 at 8wines
Price spread · 75cl · 2024 £20.03 - £24.80 Across 4 UK retailers with 75cl · 2024 in stock
Retailers · 75cl · 2024 4UK 4 in stock
Vintages live 2024 Current release: 2024
Per-litre (75cl · 2024 basis) £26.71 Lowest current 75cl · 2024 offer
Last checked 25 Oct 2026 Refreshed once every 24 hours
Wine fit score

How Pietradolce Etna Rosso scores for fit

Six dimensions scored from the live £16.72-26.05 listings, the Etna DOC rulebook and the wine's taut, food-first structure.

Best with food 8.8/10

The rulebook's minimum 5 grams a litre of acidity plus fine volcanic tannin spans tomato, mushroom, cheese and lamb, the full Etna Rosso table range.

Best intro to this style 8.0/10

A pure, fragrant expression of native Nerello Mascalese often likened to Pinot Noir. Just expect pale colour and brisk acidity as part of the Etna style.

Best value 7.8/10

Benchmarked on live listings: £16.72-26.05 here against roughly £22 for UK entry Etna Rosso. The Wine Society sells Pietradolce's 2024 at £22, so the floor price undercuts the market.

Best everyday bottle 7.0/10

A £16.72 floor price and fragrant, food-first profile make a weeknight red; docked because two of three current listings sit above £20.

Best for cellar 5.5/10

Base Etna DOC carries no ageing mandate (only the riserva needs 4 years) and sees just 3 months of oak. The 2023 drinks to 2028, so 3-5 years is the window.

Best for an occasion 5.5/10

Etna DOC prestige is rising but this is the estate's entry tier; Pietradolce's Archineri and named-vineyard wines carry the big-night weight.

Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.

Denomination Compliance Snapshot

Etna in five fields

A compact view of what the Etna denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.

Allowed grapes
4 varieties listed
This bottle: Nerello Mascalese.
Minimum ageing
No statutory minimum
Producers release on their own schedule; 4 to 6 months in steel is typical.
Region / area
Parts of 20 communes on the slopes of Mount Etna, all in the province of Catania
Source: Disciplinare.
Style
DOC · Etna
Minimum ABV at this colour: 12.5%.
Classification
DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata)
What that means →
Vintages

Pietradolce vintages compared: 2021, 2023 and 2024

Etna growers call 2021 a model year. 2023 lost over 40% of the Sicilian crop to mildew and drinks lighter. Drought-clipped 2024 is fresh, fragrant and promising.

2024 Current release
Best price
£20.03
Retailers
4 in stock
Window
Drink now through 2029

A hot, drought-marked Etna season that cut Nerello Mascalese yields sharply, though the region's old alberello vines coped well. The wine is fragrant and fresh in the house style; drink it young while the 2021s rest.

2023 Sold through
Best price
not listed
Retailers
0 in stock
ABV
14.5%
Window
Drink now through 2028

Downy mildew slashed Sicilian production by around 42% in 2023 and Nerello Mascalese was hit hardest, giving lighter-framed wines. Pietradolce's north-slope fruit kept its poise: The Wine Society brackets this vintage as drinking now to 2028.

2024 Current release
Best price
£20.03
Retailers
4 in stock
Window
Drink now through 2029

A hot, drought-marked Etna season that cut Nerello Mascalese yields sharply, though the region's old alberello vines coped well. The wine is fragrant and fresh in the house style; drink it young while the 2021s rest.

Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.

The disciplinare, the place, the label

The Etna DOC rules behind this bottle

The Etna DOC rulebook caps yields at 9 tonnes per hectare, demands 5 grams a litre of acidity and requires only 80% Nerello Mascalese. Pietradolce bottles it pure.

01

DOC, DOCG, IGT: what the badges mean

Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.

Etna is in the DOC tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.

02

The denomination rules, in detail

  • Allowed grapes. 4 varieties listed in the disciplinare
  • Yield ceiling. 9.0 tonnes per hectare
  • Minimum ABV. 12.5% vol
  • Minimum ageing. No statutory minimum - producers release on their own schedule
  • Tasting panel. Mandatory pre-release tasting commission
03

Region and area context

Etna falls within Sicily, covering Parts of 20 communes on the slopes of Mount Etna, all in the province of Catania. The denomination is further divided into 4 sub-zones.

Etna DOC zone The producer Wine route in the zone

Made at Pietradolce, Solicchiata. Directions

Wine route in the zone: Strada del Vino dell'Etna.

04

Reading the label

  • PietradolceProducer / estate
  • Nerello MascaleseGrape varieties
  • Etna DOCGeographic indication and quality tier
  • 2024Vintage (year of harvest)
05

What sits behind the price of Pietradolce Etna Rosso

Tracked from
£20.03
Direction
Mostly cost up
Drivers
3 up / 2 down
Main factor
Hand-worked vines at 700-800 m on Etna's north slope
  1. 01

    Hand-worked vines at 700-800 m on Etna's north slope

    Cost up

    Pietradolce harvests by hand at Solicchiata in October on terraced volcanic soils. Mountain farming at this altitude costs far more per bottle than flatland Sicilian farming.

  2. 02

    Etna DOC 9 t/ha yield cap, and nature cutting deeper

    Cost up

    The DOC rulebook caps crops at 9 tonnes per hectare. Real yields fell far below it when mildew (2023) then drought (2024) cut Nerello Mascalese harvests by over half, tightening supply.

  3. 03

    Only three months in oak

    Cost down

    A short, light-toast barrel spell, against 14 months in large oak barrels for the estate's single-vineyard Rampante, keeps cellar time and barrel spend low. That gap is why this bottle sells near £17-26 while the single-vineyard wines pass £45.

  4. 04

    UK duty and VAT

    Cost up

    HMRC duty of £2.67 on a still wine up to 15%, plus 20% VAT, accounts for about £5.46 of the £16.72 headline price. That is the cheapest live listing.

  5. 05

    A 32-hectare estate with nursery roots

    Cost down

    The Faro family farm 30 ha across four vineyard districts plus 2 ha at Milo, backed by their Piante Faro nursery business. That scale is rare on Etna and keeps the entry wine accessible.

01

Hand-worked vines at 700-800 m on Etna's north slope

Cost up

Pietradolce harvests by hand at Solicchiata in October on terraced volcanic soils. Mountain farming at this altitude costs far more per bottle than flatland Sicilian farming.

Perfect Pairings

Dishes that go with this wine

Fillet steak, plated

Fillet steak
Salmon, plated

Salmon
Miso Black Cod, plated

Miso Black Cod
Sukiyaki, plated

Sukiyaki
Baba Ghanoush, plated

Baba Ghanoush
Food Pairing

From pasta alla Norma to porcini: dishes for volcanic Nerello

Catania's own pasta alla Norma is the home fixture; the same taut acidity and fine tannin carry mushroom risotto, salumi and pink lamb.

Acidity matching Strong match

Tomato-led Sicilian classics

Etna DOC guarantees at least 5 grams a litre of acidity. This wine's taut, sour-cherry attack matches tomato's sharpness instead of fighting it, while fine tannin handles fried aubergine's fat. Pasta alla Norma was born in Catania, in this wine's own province.

Try with: Pasta alla Norma · Arancini · Sfincione, Sicilian Pizza · More pairings →

Aromatic bridge Strong match

Porcini, roast birds and earthy plates

Smoke, forest-floor and wet-stone aromas bridge straight into mushroom umami and roasting juices. It is the same logic that puts Pinot Noir with game birds; Nerello Mascalese at 800 m plays the volcanic version.

Try with: Porcini mushroom risotto · Roast chicken · Lamb shank

Tannin softening Good match

Grilled and roast lamb, served pink

Lamb's sweet fat and protein round off the wine's fine-grained, savoury tannin and the grip on the finish. Medium body means the meat never overwhelms the wine's herb and pepper detail.

Try with: Lamb chops · Rack of lamb · Leg of lamb · More pairings →

Fat cutting Good match

Pecorino, salumi and fried things

Bright volcanic acidity scrubs the palate after salty sheep's cheese, cured pork fat or a breadcrumbed cutlet. The wine's salt-tolerant, low-oak profile keeps the salumi board tasting of itself.

Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · Cheese board · Cotoletta alla bolognese · More pairings →

Body matching Good match

Slow-cooked ragu without the heaviness

A medium-bodied red with lift suits long-simmered meat sauces better than a heavyweight. Pasta with rich ragu is a natural call, where acidity refreshes each forkful and body stays in step with the sauce.

Try with: Ragu alla bolognese · Agnello Ragu Lucano · More pairings →

Avoid Clash

Skip chilli heat and sweet-sour sauces

Capsaicin amplifies the firm acidity and fine tannin into bitterness, and sugary glazes strip the delicate red fruit. A taut, high-acid Nerello has no sugar left to buffer either. Pour a fruitier, softer style with these plates.

Skip with: Chicken madras · Chicken jalfrezi · Szechuan chicken · Sweet and sour chicken · Pairing guide →

Drinking + cellar

Cellaring Pietradolce's entry Etna Rosso

A three-to-five-year wine: the 2023 drinks to 2028. The estate's Archineri and named-vineyard wines are the ones built for the long haul.

Drinking window
2025 → 2029

Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.

Decanting
1 hour

A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.

Serving temperature
16-18°C

Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.

Cellar potential
Medium

Base Etna DOC carries no ageing mandate (only the riserva needs 4 years) and sees just 3 months of oak. The 2023 drinks to 2028, so 3-5 years is the window.

Buy now or wait?
Buy now

£20.03 for a 75cl bottle of the 2024, at 8wines, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.

Sources & trust

Sources behind this Pietradolce page

Prices & stock

Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 25 Oct 2026, 03:34 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.

Confidence · High
Tasting notes

Drawn from published drinker ratings, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.

Confidence · Medium
Appellation rules & ageing

From the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.

Confidence · High
Why it costs what it costs

Our reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.

Confidence · Medium
Drink window & cellar potential

Style guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.

Confidence · Medium
Related

Pietradolce, Etna DOC and Nerello Mascalese connections

Producer
Pietradolce Sicily
Grapes
Nerello Mascalese
Denomination
Etna DOC
Region
Sicily Region guide
Cuisine
Mexican 3 dishes paired Lebanese Cuisine 3 dishes paired International Cuisine 2 dishes paired

Common Questions

Pale ruby with sour cherry, strawberry and a smoky wet-stone edge, then taut acidity, fine savoury tannins and a white-pepper, orange-peel finish. The estate's three months of light-toast oak adds polish rather than oak flavour, so the volcanic fruit stays in front.

It is 100% Nerello Mascalese, grown at 700-800 m around Solicchiata on Etna's north slope. Etna DOC rules only require 80%, with up to 20% Nerello Cappuccio permitted. A pure Mascalese like this is a stylistic choice by the Faro family.

Pasta alla Norma, porcini mushroom risotto, arancini, salumi and grilled lamb served pink. Its bright acidity suits tomato and fried aubergine, while the earthy, smoky side bridges to mushrooms and roast meats. Avoid hot chilli dishes, which clash with the firm acid and tannin.

Drink it within about five years of the vintage: the 2023 drinks now to 2028. The exceptional 2021 has the stuffing to reach 2027; for longer cellaring step up to the Archineri or named-vineyard bottlings.

Live listings on this page run from £16.72 to £26.05 a bottle. As a reference, The Wine Society sold the 2024 at £22, so anything under £20 is sharp for this label.

The 2021 is the stronger vintage: a cool, classic season that Etna growers cite as a model year, and the best-liked year among drinkers. The 2023 is lighter after a mildew-hit harvest that cut Sicilian yields by around 42%, but it kept its poise and drinks well now.

You May Also Appreciate

Etna Rosso Contrada Feudo di Mezzo

Etna Rosso Contrada Feudo di Mezzo

Etna

7 retailers

£21.50

+ delivery

View Wine
Etna Bianco Contrada Taccione

Etna Bianco Contrada Taccione

Etna

6 retailers

£21.50

+ delivery

View Wine
Tenuta delle Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso

Etna

5 retailers

£60.00

+ delivery

View Wine
Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco

Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco

Etna

5 retailers

£23.59

+ delivery

View Wine

Affiliate disclosure. Some links above are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Editorial coverage, ratings and tasting notes are written independently and a retailer cannot pay to be listed or to be ranked higher.

How retailer prices are sourced. Prices and stock are read from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Outbound buy links carry rel="nofollow sponsored noopener". The list is sorted by price; we do not accept payment for placement.

What we will never do. Imply we tasted a bottle when we didn’t. Imply stock when a retailer is out. Imply independence on links that are paid affiliate links.

Pietradolce Etna Rosso
Check Availability