Variety: Grecanico Dorato 60%, Carricante 10%, Coda di Volpe 30%

Like many before him, Frank Cornelissen fell in love with wine in a romantic fashion. After getting his hands on the coveted DRC, he was naturally committed. After tasting and talking with others in the industry for about 20 years, he began to question the side of wine in a philosophical way. His quest led him to Sicily, where he began to farm in the northern slopes of Mt. Etna, the active volcano. He began to make wine of culture with an approach natural in character. His vines are unlike others in the area as they aren’t planted to high density; instead he has interplanted several forms of vegetation, including fruit trees and buckwheat, allowing the vines to thrive in a polycultural way. The expanse of his love for Etna is reflected in his estate wines, the single vineyard wines, and olive oils. The wines are extremely difficult to come by as they’re allocated; everyone wants these!

Coming from vines 60 to 90+ years in age, these grapes are farmed from his highest vineyards, located between 900 and 1.000 m. ASL from ungrafted vines. The grapes are destemmed and lightly crushed before seeing indigenous year skin maceration for ~4 days. The juice is then aged in neutral epoxy tanks that range from 1500-2500 LT for 18 months followed by an additional 18 months in bottle. This wine sees minimal sulfur though the exact amount varies per vintage.