Cottanera | Sicily

Already three times the Etna lava has destroyed the city of Catania. But up to three times a year farmers also harvest on the black mineral soil of its fertile flanks! On the north side of this magical mountain lies a hamlet called Cottanera, where the Cambria family from Messina acquired a small, run-down vineyard in 1970. At first, brothers Gugliemo and Enzo were content with the table wine production common in Sicily. But they wanted more. Advised by Professor Leonardo Valenti (University of Milan), the family decided in 1996 to launch a quality offensive. Gugliemo Cambria's adult children, daughter Mariangela and son Franceso, joined the team. It was not until 2001 that they presented themselves as a quality winery at VinItaly in Verona, and just two years later they were able to celebrate the first 3-glass award from the most important Italian wine guide. Cottanera is a small but fine address by Sicilian standards: Quality guarantor is the well-known oenologist Lorenzo Landi. - Gerardo

"We highlight the almost all-encompassing passion with which the siblings Mariangela, Emanuele and Francesco work in all areas of the winery. Starting from the vineyard, where a selection of plots takes place, continuing with the separate vinification and enology, to the commercial area, all this based on the fundamental decision to bet on a unique and extraordinary territory, that of Etna." - Daniele Cernilli (Doctor Wine)