Etna DOC Sicily's Oldest Denomination, Written on an Active Volcano

Etna Rosso and Rosato are built on Nerello Mascalese, which must make up at least 80 per cent of the blend, with Nerello Cappuccio permitted up to 20 per cent. Etna Bianco uses 60 to 80 per cent Carricante with Catarratto making up the rest. Etna Bianco Superiore, produced only in the commune of Milo, requires a minimum of 80 per cent Carricante.

A contrada is a named parcel of land on the volcano, and since 2011 they have been written into the Etna DOC rules as official sub-zones. There are 133 in the disciplinare across 20 communes, and the consorzio has mapped 9 more. Because Nerello Mascalese is so transparent to where it grows, the contrada named on a label genuinely changes what is in the glass.

The denomination reserves the Superiore designation for the commune of Milo on the eastern face, and requires at least 80 per cent Carricante rather than the 60 per cent minimum that applies elsewhere. Milo sits high on the wettest side of the volcano, where Carricante holds acidity exceptionally well. It is a rare case of Italian wine law naming a single village for a single white wine.

They run from the foothills up to between 1,000 and 1,200 metres above sea level, which is extraordinarily high for a latitude this far south. That altitude, combined with the volcano's own cooling effect and wide day-to-night temperature swings, is why Etna reds are pale, high-acid and structured rather than the dark, jammy style the Sicilian climate would otherwise suggest.

Four: north, east, south-east and south-west. There is no western flank in the denomination, because that side of the mountain is where lava flows most often. Each slope behaves differently, with the cooler northern flank around Randazzo and Castiglione di Sicilia harvesting latest and producing most of the single-contrada bottlings.

Both, and it also produces rosato and traditional-method sparkling wine. Etna Rosso from Nerello Mascalese is the best known internationally, but Etna Bianco from Carricante has an equally strong following, particularly the Superiore from Milo. The denomination has been making all of these styles since it was created in 1968.