PIANTA ETNA BIANCO DOC

Carricante 90%, others (Cataratto, Minnella etc.) 10%

Notes of yellow flowers, apricot, and herbs. On the palate, the wine is round, lush, and mineral.

Beautiful with seafood or roast chicken.

Etna. Comune di Trecastagni - Contrada Ronzini (18km from Catania). 640 metres above sea level. East facing, volcanic/sandy soil rich in minerals with low acidity.

Harvest in Early October. 24 hour maceration, controlled low temperature fermentation in barrel with selected yeasts. The wine ages for 10 months in 225L neutral barrels on the lees and is then filtered with coarse paper.

Ciro Biondi’s family has owned vineyards and made wines successfully in this area since at least 1800 but towards the end of the second World War, the winery experienced a period of decline after the premature death of Salvatore (Ciro’s great uncle), the unsuccessful readjustment to modern technology and the new post-war market. After the winery was abandoned for many years, in 1999 Ciro and his wife Stef succeeded in restoring the 6 hectares owned by his family, leading to the production of high quality wines, whilst rediscovering the huge potential of the volcanic ‘terroir’ and its grape varietals.

Ciro’s ‘Pianta’ Etna Bianco comes from a single 2.5-hectare vineyard. Owned by the Biondi family since at least 1800, the name ‘Pianta’ means ‘to plant’ in Sicilian dialect. The vineyard lies on the side of a steep terraced crater, dating back thousands of years. The supporting dry-stone walls were built by Cirino Biondi, Ciro's grandfather. ‘Pianta’ is a blend of mostly Carricante, with support from Minella, Malvasia, Catarrato, and Moscatello dell'Etna.