A drink with... Michele Faro

Mount Etna has rapidly become one of the world’s most talked-about wine regions. In a short span, wines from its black soil have reached unprecedented heights, but the rush to the volcano puts quality at risk, believes the owner of Etna winery Pietradolce

‘In 2005, we were a handful of producers on Etna. We took a risk in investing in a region that was completely unknown at the time. Everything was a challenge – from understanding how to work the vineyards on the volcano to finding workers – but we had so much passion that the work didn’t feel burdensome.

‘Pietradolce’s first vintage was 2007 and we made 3,600 bottles of our wine Archineri. It was very hard selling the wines. Nobody knew Etna and at the time the international palates preferred structured wines with a lot of colour and fruit – the opposite of the elegant wines being made from our black volcanic soil and high altitudes. Luckily that has changed since then.

‘In 2010, Etna started to get attention and everything became easier – but with success comes risk, and today the situation is critical for Etna’s future reputation. There is a gold rush going on, with new wineries popping up at an alarming rate. We have gone from being around 10 wineries at the turn of the century to more than 200 today. There is a big difference in quality among these newer wineries, and the problem is that every bottle bears the name Etna. We should never allow low-quality wines to bear the name Etna on the label – it is against everyone’s interest.

‘The solution is stricter controls and tougher rules from the consorzio of the

Etna DOC, which has applied to become Sicily’s next DOCG (the second in Sicily after Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG). We need a long-term vision, otherwise it’s like sailing without a compass.

‘We also need to focus even more on our unique terroir. Today, you can’t plant any new vineyards in the Etna DOC region, and that is a good thing. I would focus on our 142 contradas, and I would like to see the creation of MGAs or UGAs (smaller, defined geographical units) like in Barolo or Barbaresco, enabling us to narrow down the exact site on the label.

‘Making wines from smaller units of land would help our indigenous varieties, such as Nerello Mascalese and Carricante, to express the terroir in the most nuanced way. The best Etna wines show that this is possible.

‘We need to spread the message about our unique terroir, even more than we do today. Etna is special; we are on an active volcano, with black volcanic soil and with some of the highest vineyards in Europe, and with characterful indigenous grape varieties. We have to look after this fantastic heritage and not be governed by commercial short-termism.’

To read the full interview by Åsa Johansson, visit decanter.com