About this wine
Vineyard and terroir
The grapes grow on the northern slope of Mount Etna.
Grapes
Nerello Mascalese with a small amount of Nerello Cappuccio.
Vinification
The grapes are harvested by hand, sorted in the vineyard and placed in small crates. Fermentation and skin maceration take place in stainless steel tanks at 25 °C for 8–10 days.
Ageing
The wine ages for 12 months in concrete tanks and second- and third-use French oak barriques, then rests a further 10 months in bottle in the winery's cellars before release.
Label / history
The label shows Etna, goddess of volcanoes and daughter of Uranus and Gaia, a symbol of the meeting of sky and earth, with flaming hair among the clouds and roots reaching deep into the ground. The wine is a new release from Donnafugata.
The name Donnafugata means "woman who fled". According to legend, Queen Maria Carolina escaped from Naples and found refuge in a town in the heart of the Santa Margherita Belice valley, in a palace beneath the stars. This is why many Donnafugata labels show a woman's head with her hair blowing in the wind.
The Rallo family produced wines in Sicily for 150 years before founding Donnafugata as a more modern company. Most of the estate's vineyards are in the Contessa Entellina area of southeastern Sicily. Grapes are picked at night, and the estate uses solar panels to generate electricity. During the harvest it holds a nighttime music festival in the vineyards.
