Vini di Luca 'Virgola' Etna Rosso, Sicily, Italy

Red cherry, raspberry and violet lead into volcanic minerality, dried herbs and a fine, grainy tannic structure in the 2022 Vini di Luca Virgola Etna Rosso. Sourced from a tiny parcel of old Nerello Mascalese vines in Contrada Crasà on Etna's northern slope, the wine combines freshness and precision with the depth brought by extended maturation in steel, regenerated-oak tonneaux and bottle. Virgola reflects Luca Zumbo's return to his family's vineyards and the knowledge passed down by his father Salvatore, giving a contemporary voice to a deeply rooted piece of Etna.

Product Details:

• Owner: Luca Zumbo
• Grapes: Nerello Mascalese; Nerello Cappuccio also listed by the merchant
• Farming: Organic
• Vineyard Source: 0.3-hectare parcel in Contrada Crasà
• Vine Age: Approximately 70 to 80 years
• Elevation: Approximately 650 metres
• Harvest Method: Hand-harvested
• Fermentation: Destemmed grapes vinified in vats without temperature control, followed by gentle pressing
• Maceration: 12 days on the skins
• Aging: 4 months in stainless steel followed by 10 months in regenerated-oak tonneaux and a minimum of 6 months in bottle
• ABV: 14.5%
• Lot: 5726

Sensory Description:

Medium ruby in colour, the 2022 Virgola Rosso opens with red cherry, raspberry and violet alongside dried herbs, slate and a distinctly stony, volcanic character. With air, deeper notes of dried fruit, tobacco, black olive and walnut emerge, joined by liquorice and sandalwood. The palate is composed and precise, balancing ripe red fruit with fresh acidity and fine, grainy tannins. Oak contributes measured warmth and savoury complexity without obscuring the wine's mineral drive. The finish is persistent, lifted and structured, with red fruit, herbs and volcanic savouriness lingering through the close.

Winemaker's Background:

Vini di Luca is the small Etna project of Luca Zumbo, built around family vineyards on the volcano's northern side. Luca credits his father, Salvatore, with teaching him to work the vines, continuing a family connection to the land that reaches back to Luca's grandfather. Contrada Crasà, near Solicchiata, is the source of Virgola Rosso, with old Nerello Mascalese vines rooted high on Etna's northern slope. Luca and Salvatore work the vineyards organically, preserving a small-scale approach in which vineyard character remains central. The name Virgola, meaning "comma" in Italian, reflects Luca's background in physics and his idea of the comma not as an ending, but as a point from which something new begins.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve at approximately 16 to 18°C in a medium-to-large red wine glass, allowing the wine some air to open its floral, red-fruited and savoury dimensions. Its combination of freshness, fine tannin and volcanic character suits seared tuna, grilled duck, roast lamb, porcini mushrooms, aubergine and other charred vegetables. It is particularly well matched with grilled duck hearts and sour cherry glaze or seared tuna steak with grilled aubergine salad.