History
A long-conceived eastern Sicilian project
The Etna project was conceived within the Rallo family as a long-term expansion into eastern Sicily. Giacomo and Gabriella Rallo developed the idea with their children, Antonio and José, seeking to interpret another Sicilian territory through its native varieties and established denomination.
2016 — the first harvest
Donnafugata began working on Etna with the 2016 harvest, inaugurating the Etna and Vittoria estates in the same year. The first Etna operation comprised approximately 15 hectares in five districts on the northern slope, between Randazzo and Passopisciaro. Carricante and Nerello Mascalese were cultivated and vinified at the winery in Randazzo. The 2016 season supplied the grapes for the estate’s first white and red Etna DOC wines, as well as a selected Nerello Mascalese cru from Contrada Montelaguardia.
2018 — the first Etna release
The first wine released from the project was Sul Vulcano Etna Bianco DOC, made from Carricante harvested in 2016 and produced in a limited run of 7,000 bottles. Its presentation marked the commercial debut of Donnafugata’s Etna production, two years after work began on the volcano. A red interpretation from the same harvest followed, based principally on Nerello Mascalese.
2019 — the first cru and the opening of Randazzo
Fragore, the estate’s Contrada Montelaguardia cru, debuted in 2019 from the 2016 harvest. Donnafugata had selected the best Nerello Mascalese parcels in Montelaguardia, where its vineyards then covered just over four hectares at approximately 750 metres. Slightly more than 15,000 bottles of the inaugural vintage were produced.
The Randazzo winery, active for production since the 2016 harvest, opened to visitors in 2019. Located in Contrada Statella inside Etna Park, it became the centre of both production and hospitality. At that stage, the estate had expanded to 18 hectares in six nearby districts. The visitor route introduced the volcanic soils and traditional viticulture before entering the vinification winery and the newly created barrique cellar overlooking Etna.
Expansion of the estate
The vineyards subsequently expanded to 33 hectares. The present estate configuration comprises seven named districts—Crasà, Marchesa, Verzella, Montelaguardia, Statella, Pignatone and Moganazzi—together with 5 hectares of olive groves. The range grew to include two site-designated Etna reds: Fragore from Contrada Montelaguardia and Contrada Marchesa Etna Rosso DOC. The latter comes from a two-hectare vineyard rooted in lava deposits formed thousands of years ago.
Restoration and continuity
Alongside expansion, work began to restore old vineyards whose original Etna alberello training had previously been converted to espalier and spurred cordon. In particularly valuable vineyards, unproductive vines are replaced individually, preserving the established vegetative and productive balance rather than replanting the entire vineyard. Dry lava-stone walls are restored and maintained annually to limit erosion and conserve the terraced landscape.
Recent seasons
The 2023 growing season brought heavy May rain and above-average July temperatures. Harvest began on 12 September with Nerello Mascalese for rosé, followed by Carricante at the end of September and Nerello Mascalese for red wine from early October through the final ten days of that month. Production declined, particularly for Nerello Mascalese, whose clusters were less compact and whose berries were smaller and lighter.
In 2024 the northern-slope vineyards experienced a mild winter, regular spring development and seasonally normal rainfall. Timely rain in May and June supported even budbreak. The deep sandy volcanic soils held sufficient water for the vines to withstand warmer conditions in June and mid-July, while rain between August and September supported ripening. Picking began about one week early: Nerello Mascalese for rosé was harvested in the first ten days of September, Carricante from 16 September, and Nerello Mascalese for red wines from late September until 5 October.
Terroir
Northern slope of Etna
The estate lies in eastern Sicily on Etna’s northern slope, principally between Randazzo and Castiglione di Sicilia. The vineyards occupy high, predominantly sloping terraces within a landscape of lava flows, dry-stone walls, woodland and old agricultural structures. The current production area extends from approximately 600 to 750 metres above sea level, with many of the central estate vineyards between 730 and 750 metres.
The Nebrodi and Peloritani mountains form a natural barrier against colder and rain-bearing northern air currents. Around Randazzo this creates a comparatively dry climatic pocket. Lower rainfall than on other sides of the volcano favours healthy grapes and gradual ripening, while the elevation and frequent winds preserve aromatic definition.
Climate
The climate combines a continental mountain character with Mediterranean sunlight. Autumn and winter bring rain and snow, spring is generally mild, and summer is marked by pronounced differences between daytime and nighttime temperatures. Older estate material measured average annual rainfall at 801 mm for 2007–2021. The growing season is sufficiently cool and prolonged for harvest to extend from the second half of September into late October, depending on variety and intended style.
Volcanic sands and lava flows
The soils are deep volcanic sands with a mildly acidic to neutral reaction, good organic content and abundant minerals. Their depth and loose texture allow extensive root development and can retain useful water reserves during warm periods.
Etna’s lava accumulations, locally called sciare, are transformed into cultivable sandy soils through long physical and chemical processes. Because individual flows originated in different eruptions, each carries a particular composition and creates a distinct micro-terroir.
Contrada Montelaguardia lies over the lava produced by the prolonged 1614–1624 eruption. Contrada Marchesa’s two-hectare vineyard is rooted in lava flows formed thousands of years ago. These contrasting geological histories underpin the estate’s distinction between its two principal crus.
Terraced landscape and biodiversity
Terraces are bordered by dry lava-stone walls. The walls are maintained each year to counter erosion, conserve biodiversity and protect the agricultural landscape. The Randazzo winery and surrounding production site lie entirely within Etna Park. Beyond the cultivated terraces, the landscape passes into woodland rich in spontaneous herbs, creating the estate’s garden-forest and maintaining continuity between agricultural and natural habitats.
Winemaking
Mountain viticulture
The 33 hectares of vines are cultivated predominantly on sloping terraces between approximately 600 and 750 metres. Planting density is around 4,500 vines per hectare and yields generally range from 4,500 to 6,500 kg per hectare. The estate grows Carricante, Lucido or Catarratto, Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio. Harvest normally runs from the second half of September to late October.
Traditional Etna alberello bush vines coexist with vertically positioned espalier vineyards pruned to spurred cordon. Some vineyards are more than 80 years old, and vineyards close to Randazzo include surviving pre-phylloxera vines. The estate is reversing earlier conversions in selected old vineyards by restoring the original Etna alberello form. In especially valuable vineyards, individual unproductive vines are replaced so that the established vegetative and productive equilibrium can continue without wholesale replanting.
Soil and landscape care
Dry lava-stone walls are restored and maintained annually to limit erosion and preserve the terraces and their biodiversity. Soil management follows minimum-tillage principles. Chemical weedkillers and chemical fertilisers are excluded from the company’s farming programme; weeds are managed mechanically or manually, and fertility is supported with organic inputs and leguminous green manure. Grassing, flowering areas, spontaneous vegetation, hedges and woodland help protect the soil microbiome, provide habitat for pollinating insects and maintain ecological links between cultivated and natural areas.
Integrated protection and precision monitoring
Integrated pest management combines observation of rainfall, temperature and humidity with parasite monitoring and pheromone traps. Decision-support systems and vineyard sensors are used to assess conditions linked to vine diseases and to optimise the timing of field operations, water use and crop-protection treatments. ISOBUS-compatible sprayers are employed within the wider farming system to reduce crop-protection products, water and fuel.
Pruning and cluster thinning regulate the crop load. New plantings use lower-impact materials including wooden posts, bamboo stakes and biodegradable ties. Drip systems are reserved for relief irrigation where required, with soil moisture and vine-water status used to avoid unnecessary consumption.
Certification and protected status
Donnafugata adopted Good Agricultural Practices in 2011 and extended its quality and environmental management systems to vineyard operations. It joined the SOStain Sicilia Foundation in 2021, including participation in the VIVA programme and its Air, Water, Vineyard and Territory indicators. SQNPI certification for integrated production was obtained in 2022. The Randazzo production site lies entirely inside Etna Park, where vineyard management is intended to avoid invasive practices that could disturb volcanic soils, wild vegetation and local habitats.
The Randazzo winery in Contrada Statella has vinified the estate’s grapes since the inaugural 2016 harvest. It is the production centre for the Etna wines and includes a dedicated vinification area and a barrique-ageing cellar overlooking the volcano.
Antonio Rallo coordinates production with a team combining agronomic and oenological expertise. Work is organised vineyard by vineyard, with harvest timing adapted to the variety, ripeness and intended expression. Carricante and Nerello Mascalese are therefore picked in separate phases; Nerello Mascalese destined for rosé is collected earlier to preserve freshness, while grapes for red wines remain on the vine until the desired sugar and phenolic maturity is reached.
Selection for the two crus is site-specific. Contrada Marchesa is harvested manually, followed by further bunch and berry selection on a vibrating table. Its documented cellar protocol uses steel fermentation, 10–12 days of skin contact at 25°C, 14 months in French oak and at least 12 months in bottle. Fragore from Contrada Montelaguardia is aged for 14 months in second- and third-use French oak barriques and then for at least 20 months in bottle. These protocols demonstrate the estate’s use of stainless steel for controlled fermentation and French oak for the maturation of selected reds rather than a single standard recipe for every Etna wine.
Wastewater from the comparatively low-consumption Randazzo winery is treated in an Imhoff system before discharge through drainage trenches.
Philosophy
Donnafugata presents Etna as an exercise in interpreting individual vineyards rather than imposing a uniform regional style. Its declared production ideal is based on small, carefully selected lots from distinctive territories, with agronomic and oenological work coordinated through every phase from harvest to maturation.
The estate links quality directly to environmental responsibility. Its guiding position is that quality cannot be separated from sustainability across the route from vineyard to bottle. On Etna this is expressed through the restoration of alberello training, individual replacement of unproductive vines, maintenance of lava-stone terraces, integrated pest management and the protection of woodland and spontaneous vegetation inside Etna Park.
Tradition and contemporary precision are treated as complementary. Historic bush-vine forms, old vineyards and dry-stone construction are retained or recovered, while climatic sensors, decision-support tools, controlled cellar equipment and targeted maturation are used to respond to individual sites and seasons. Vintage differences are addressed through selective harvest timing and agronomic decisions rather than through a fixed calendar.
The family’s stated objective for Etna is to express the volcano’s native varieties, elevation and contrasting lava formations through wines characterised by freshness, minerality, elegance and the identity of their particular districts.