Masseria del Pino

Recent investment in Mount Etna has seen the arrival of ambitious producers from all around the globe armed with significant financial resources and modern winemaking techniques. While much has changed in this part of Sicily over the last two decades, pockets remain where time seems to stand still. Driving down the dusty road to Masseria del Pino, Cesare Fulvio and Federica Turillo’s little farm upslope from Randazzo, on the volcano's northern face, it is hard to tell which century we are living in. This is Etna in all its pastoral serenity, with only the sights, scents, and sounds of the mountain to stimulate the senses.

This simple, peaceful lifestyle is precisely what the couple envisioned when they settled here in 2005. Catania natives, they left their jobs—Cesare as a commercial air pilot, Federica as an archery instructor—to cultivate the two hectares of terraced vineyards at Contrada Pino, elevation 800 meters. They renovated the property’s ancient palmento, a traditional farmhouse featuring an old press and large fermentation vats made of lava stone, and began to work the 120-year-old pre-phylloxera vines, plus some olive trees and vegetable gardens, according to organic and biodynamic principles.

Upon bringing in the grapes—for the red, Nerello Mascalese with a bit of Nerello Cappuccio—Cesare and Federica stomp them by foot in these vats. An open-air fermentation begins, then the must is ultimately pressed off into old 500-liter tonneaux, where the wine stays for over a year until bottling. These primitive techniques have changed little since vines first appeared in Contrada Pino in the ninth century, and one can imagine this is what the wine might have tasted like back then. It is a profound Etna Rosso, richly flavored with black cherry, balsamic spices, and a smokiness that recalls the fresh-laid-tar suggestions often found in young Barolo. Its intensely gripping, yet silty-fine tannin is a trademark of wines from Contrada Pino. Cesare proudly remembers when an elderly local peasant identified his red in a blind tasting: “This wine hails from Contrada Pino!” the man exclaimed. For Cesare and Federica, there could be no better compliment.

Technical Information

Wine	Blend	Vine Age	Soil Type	Vineyard Area*
Vino Bianco “Caravan Petrol”	Field blend: Carricante, Catarratto, Minella, Pizzutella	120 years	Volcanic	1.7 ha total
Vino Rosato “SuperLuna”	90% Nerello Mascalese, 10% Nerello Cappuccio	120 years	Volcanic	1.7 ha total
Vino Rosso “I Nove Fratelli”	90% Nerello Mascalese, 10% Nerello Cappuccio	120 years	Volcanic	1.7 ha total
Nocino	Walnuts, clove, neutral spirit, white wine, water	N/A	Volcanic	1.7 ha total
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

• Fermentations are spontaneous with indigenous yeasts
• Wines bottled unfined and unfiltered

• Hand harvested, grapes sorted in the vineyard

Vino Bianco “Caravan Petrol”:
• Grapes are lightly crushed without destemming
• Skin maceration for a day and a half, then grapes are pressed in a vertical basket press
• Fermented and aged in a 500-L chestnut barrel for 9 months
• Aged 2 months in bottle before release
• No added sulfur
• “Caravan Petrol” is a tongue-in-cheek name for the phenomenon that Federica and Cesare have observed of newcomers buying land for vineyards on Etna, completely changing the landscape with bulldozers and other machinery in an effort to profit off of Etna's popularity. It is also a nod to a Neapolitan song from the 1950s with the title “Caravan Petrol”.

Vino Rosato “SuperLuna”:

• Grapes are de-stemmed
• Lightly crushed grapes macerate in small wooden vats for about an hour ("the time it takes to eat lunch")
• Pressed in a vertical basket press and fermented in 500-L old oak barrels
• Undergoes malolactic fermentation

Vino Rosso “I Nove Fratelli”:

• Grapes crushed by foot, fed into tank by gravity

• Tanks for fermentation are made from volcanic rocks covered in cement

• Fermentation with indigenous yeasts lasts 20 days

• Regular punchdowns at beginning of fermentation, punchdowns end when fermentation is fully going

• Wine is aged in 500L, old, oak barrels for 15 months

Liquore Nocino:
• Walnuts sourced from the domanie’s orchard, on Mount Etna
• As is often the tradition with harvesting walnuts for Nocino, the walnuts are harvested on San Giovanni’s Day, June 24th, in Italy. Click here for a more in-depth history of the traditions and history of Nocino.
• Chopped, green walnuts are added to 100% pure corn alcohol from an Italian distillery and are macerated for 60 days. No sweetener, like sugar, is added during the process.
• After 60 days, Nocino is removed from the walnuts, the walnuts are pressed, cloves are added to the liquore, and then continues to age in tank. During this time, local white wine and purified water are added to balance out taste and alcohol percentage (35%).
• Nocino ages in tank until bottling, the year following the June harvest. Nocino ages and develops in bottle for many years.

A note from Federica Turillo and Cesare Fulvio on their Nocino:
Nocino is a very popular amaro throughout Italy, especially in the past, and is part of an ancient tradition. There are several recipes that vary from one place to another and from family to family. Our recipe is from an old monk who made Nocino in his monastery in northern Italy. We got this recipe from a carabiniere who served in the monastery area. We collect the walnuts on June 24 which is the feast of St. John and after the harvest a priest comes to bless the walnuts (this is part of the recipe). As you can see in the label, we have represented the priest, the carabiniere, San Giovanni and the fireworks that represent the village festival. We do not use flavorings or even sugar but we only extract from nuts which are still very green at that time. We drink it every day after dinner as a natural digestive. On the label we had to write "contains sulphites" only because the law requires it but it does not really contain sulphites. The manufacturing process is very simple: after harvesting, we crush the walnuts with stones and put them to macerate in pure alcohol. After about two or three months we separate the alcohol and press the nuts with a press. We add the ingredients listed on the label and let it rest for another six months or so before bottling.