The property is located on the northern slopes of Etna, within the hilly area between Solicchiata and Randazzo, historically the preferred area for great red wines in the entire Etna region. The estate comprises approximately 45 hectares divided into 29 plots spread across nine districts.
The soils of the plots are of different nature and the same is true of their altitudes, which vary from 600 to 1,000 meters above sea level.
With the exception of approximately 7 hectares recently planted, the remaining vines are between 50 and 100 years old. Less than one hectare is over 140 years old, having survived phylloxera, and is therefore ungrafted.
Phylloxera officially arrived on Etna in 1881 and destroyed a large number of vines. The volcanic soil, however, thanks to its high silicon content, favored the preservation of many vines, but very few vineyards, which, to be considered pre-phylloxera, are therefore necessarily older than 140 years (as of 2021). We are fortunate to have less than one hectare, located in the Contrada di Calderara Sottana, of such venerable age, handed down to us through three centuries of history. A vineyard capable of producing a unique wine that somehow expresses the quintessence of Nerello Mascalese and its location. Its second name—La Vigna di Don Peppino—is intended as a tribute to the grower who, by cultivating it with infinite affection and expertise for 70 years, made it possible for the vineyard to reach us healthy and vigorous in all its splendor.