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Nerello Mascalese

Nerello Mascalese (Niureddu in Sicilian) is the principal native varietal of the Etna region. It was selected by local vine-growers several hundred years ago in Mascali, a village on the slopes of Etna.

It is common to the entire region and grows at heights between 350 and 1,050 metres above sea-level. Depending on the vine training system and on the the exposition of the vineyard, it produces wines with nuances and characteristics significantly different from each other. Like all varieties native to Mt. Etna, it ripens late (around the middle of October).

If properly cultivated and vinified, it produces great red wines which, at full maturation, provide the palate with wonderful sensations of flowers, tobacco and spices, further enhanced by the typical tannines. These characteristics are strongly influenced by the climatic pattern throughout the year – the excessive heat of the summer and the excessive rainfall in the autumn have an enormous effect on the physiology of the vine and explain why the quality of the wines obtained from the Nerello Mascalese is very closely linked to their area of origin and the vintage.