Italy: Azienda Agricola Graci - Etna Bianco 2025, Sicily (Organic)

Grape varieties: 80% Carricante, 20% Catarratto, varieties indigenous to Sicily. Certified organic. 13% alcohol. 

Founded by Alberto Graci in 2004 when he took on around 30 hectares of long-established vineyards on Etna's northern slopes, this estate is now considered one of Etna's finest, if not the finest. So fine in fact that Piemonte wine legend Angelo Gaja, whose bottles can fetch in the thousands, has partnered with Alberto to make his own Etna wines. This is quite something given Alberto, now 51, originally trained as a banker in Milan, does not come from a winemaking background, and is self-taught!

Being an 'Azienda Agricola', this means Graci must produce wine only from the estate's own vineyards, meaning they are in total control of quality from grape to glass. Each of their vineyards is certified organic. The estate is spread over six vineyard areas and all are single-vineyard wines i.e. none of the wines are blended, so that each fully reflects the individual site from where the fruit comes, commonly referred to as 'terroir expression'.

This wine comes from the Contrada Arcuria, a site encompassing 20 hectares of vineyard with five different types of volcanic soils and sitting at between 600-700m above sea level near the town of Passopisciaro. Vine age varies between 15 and 70 years and yields are kept to a bare minimum, while the bush vines are trained in the ancient 'alberello' system, a method with a long history in Sicily.

The high altitude is key to concentrated, elegant wines which retain incredible acidity and moderate alcohol in an otherwise Mediterranean climate.

Hand-harvested and very gently pressed. Spontaneously fermented in cement tanks with native yeasts prior to ageing on lees (the dead yeast cells) in the same tanks for 8 months, before being bottled.

What the experts say

93pts: "Silky, light- to medium-bodied...vibrant, lemony acidity...focused finish”- Aldo Fiordelli, James Suckling.com

91pts: "clarity and precision; plenty of freshness...a tonic, zesty quality that gives this vintage an especially lively and immediate personality" - Monica Larner, RobertParker.com

Food pairing

A fantastic seafood wine: e.g. grilled sea bass with lemon & herbs; octopus salad with olive oil, parsley, capers; prawns with chilli and garlic; clams or mussels in white wine; crab linguine; scallops; salmon, mackerel or trout; sushi and sashimi. Also vegetables: grilled courgettes, artichokes, asparagus. This wine's minerality and acidity means it can live with green, herbal, slightly bitter flavours.