A new addition to our portfolio that opens our wine distribution to Italian producers too, starting with the Great Volcano, Etna: from the northern slope comes Agricola Raciti, and the purity of volcanic fruit
We are in Castiglione di Sicilia, on the northern slope of Etna, not far from Linguaglossa. Here, for three generations, the Raciti family has farmed its own vineyards, respecting a land that shapes the contours of Etna and is as demanding as it is generous in quality. Three generations of grape growers, yes, but the family only began making its own wine a very few years ago. Indeed, it is thanks to the third generation, the brothers Rosario, Filippo and Dario Raciti, that the Etna Rupestre range was born, named in honour of the ancient Palmento that stands in one of their vineyards.
Palmento Rupestre in Pietramarina, between Nerello Mascalese and Carricante
A Palmento found, as it happens, in Contrada Pietramarina, on one of the plots owned by the Raciti family, and today given over to growing both Nerello Mascalese and Carricante.
Palmento: a word of uncertain etymology, yet one that immediately evokes the ancient winemaking tradition of southern Italy, and of Sicily in particular. This is how the Treccani dictionary defines this ancient type of agricultural structure: "A wide, shallow basin with walls of brick or concrete, or even carved into impermeable rock, used for crushing grapes and fermenting the must".
And it is from Palmento Rupestre that the Raciti family's wine production takes its name, comprising just two labels: Etna Bianco DOC Rupestre and Etna Rosso DOC Rupestre.
Rupestre: the Etna wines of Az. Agricola Raciti, now distributed in Italy
One range, two labels, both linked to the Palmento Rupestre in Contrada Pietramarina, though in fact they also include fruit from two other plots: one in Contrada Verzella and another in Contrada Moganazzi. From these three contrade, at around 600 m above sea level, Az. Agricola Raciti harvests and vinifies its two expressions of Etna DOC.
Rupestre Etna Bianco DOC: a pure, powerful expression of 100% Carricante, vinified in stainless steel only and kept on its fine lees for 18 months to preserve its sense of place and the typicity of its terroir. Available through our Italian distribution, with some stock of the 2020 vintage remaining before we move on to the 2021.
Rupestre Etna Rosso DOC: a concentrated expression of pure Nerello Mascalese in all its firmness and rugged sense of place, frank and rough-edged, at times bloody, yet always deep and, in its own way, elegant in its expressiveness. Vinified for 24 months in stainless steel only, it sees no wood whatsoever and hides behind no artifice of any kind, preferring to let its varietal and terroir typicity speak for itself. Available through our Italian distribution, with some stock of the 2019 vintage remaining before we move on to the 2020.
The Rupestre Range – Etna Bianco and Etna Rosso
The Etna Rupestre range from Azienda Agricola Raciti is available through the official distribution channels of Wine Terroir Import: send us an email or contact your local sales representative for orders and reservations!
