I Custodi, Etna, Sicily

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I Custodi delle vigne dell’Etna, Sicily

I Custodi, as the Italian name suggests, are the ‘guardians’ of Mt. Etna’s vineyards, safeguarding the traditions of its viticulture and people.  Their 18.5 ha of ‘alberello’ – bush trained vines sit between 600 and 900 meters above sea level, planted to stone terraces, on the northern and eastern slops of Etna. The estate is owned by Mario and Manuela Paoluzi and the vineyards are managed by the I Vigneri team in collaboration with Salvo Foti, who is also the estate’s winemaker.

The soils are sandy, volcanic, very rich in minerals. A result of the generosity and the minerality of the warm volcanic soil, the cold of the Muntagna (Mount Etna’s local terminology) and the Sicilian sun.  

I Custodi produce white wines from Carricante grown on the rainier East side, as well as red wines from Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio grown on the sunnier northern slopes. The vineyards on the North side are divided into two areas: 

Contrada Moganazzi – forms a natural amphitheatre, framed by dry-stone walls, built of black lava blocks with a centrally placed ancient palmento, a traditional building for wine pressing.  It is mostly planted with Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio vines from the 1920s and 1930s. The grapes are blended to produce their Etna Rosso DOC Aetneus label.

Contrada Feudo di Mezzo – walking through the 250-year-old Vigna Saeculare is an immersion into the history of viticulture on Mt. Etna. Dominated by the presence of perfectly healthy ungrafted vines, planted to classic Etnean varietals, Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Alicante (Grenache). The old vines there made it through the phylloxera era unscathed due to the extremely fine sandy soils. With these grapes I Custodi produce their top wine, Etna Rosso Riserva DOC Sæculare.

“The crest of Salvo Foti’s Vigneri association is on every one of our bottles. It shows a gobelet vine, the form of vine training that has persisted for 30 centuries here on Etna,” Mario says. “The fact that our vineyards are planted with these alberello-vines connects me to the history of this land – deep roots, like those of the old vines that I have the honour and responsibility to care for.”

For more information visit:
icustodi.it
@icustodidellevignedelletna