< 1 min read
Last week, I joined my friend (and Opening a Bottle subscriber) Rob Clark for a podcast on the wines of Etna. We covered a lot of ground in this episode, in part because Etna covers a lot of Sicily, but also because its fleet of red and white wines are so utterly fascinating.
Together, we tasted the Etna Bianco and Etna Rosso from standout producer, Benanti. A time code of the topics we discussed is listed below.
- Location and Geography of Etna – 3:10
- Volcanism – 7:45
- Brief History & Trajectory of Etna DOC – 19:19
- Terroir & Why Etna Is So Special – 27:50
- How That Is Expressed in Etna Bianco – 30:53
- Etna Bianco Aging – 40:00
- How That Is Expressed in Etna Rosso – 42:35
- Other Etna Wines (Rosato, Spumante) – 48:30
- Benanti winery – 47:55
- The Contrada System – 50:00
- How the Region Compares to Other Big Name Regions in Italy – 50:55
- Key Producers – 55:20
- Traveling to Sicily – 58:22
Enjoyed your Etna discussion, Kevin! I enjoy the depth of your knowledge and must come to Denver when you have an event there! V/R, Don Vino, 12 July 2025. Visited Sicily 14+ years ago and only managed to stop in to visit COS… Drove around Etna, but the winery that I wanted to stop in on the north side of Etna (Palmento Costanzo) was closed. Still, a good trip before moving back to the USA. Knowing what I know now, I’d add Occippinti to my stops, if she takes visitors. Big fan of her wines.
Sorry, that’s Arianna Occhipinti! Should’ve checked before I hit ‘return’…