Ayunta Etna DOC Piante Sparsa Bianco

The Wine

The Italian term "Piante Sparsa" translates as "Scattered plants". Which perfectly describes the field blend of grapes that includes Etna's big two (Carricante and Catarratto) plus some Minello, Grecanico, Zibibbo and Muscatedda. The vineyards range in altitude from 1,800 to 3,300 feet above sea level - high elevation grape growing by any definition.

After manual harvest (which includes all of Filippo's friends and family and people he just met at the local pub and...), fermentation occurs in steel prior to moving the wine by gravity to cement tanks where it sits for at least a year in contact with the gross lees, a carefully monitored process that acts as a preservative for the wine and reduces the need for added SO2. This process is the result of an incredible amount of research and Filippo's interest in preserving a piece of winemaking heritage that was nearly lost. The result? An extreme sensory experience for any lover of Mt Etna wines.

The Winery

Filippo Mangione came to the wine world from another career and made the switch when he fell in love with the vines in a vineyard in Etna owned by an old man who became his mentor. Filippo began by volunteering in the vineyard and ended up buying it from him, as the former owner had no heirs. Coming into an area like Etna, where the growers and producers are skeptical of outsiders, and, one might say, a bit closed off from them, found Filippo's sincere love of the land and infectious enthusiasm impossible to resist. He now counts many of his fellow producers as advisors and is honored to serve in the same capacity for many of them.

Filippo boot-strapped the development of the old Palmento, which looks more like a jigsaw puzzle than a production facility, always buying the best he could afford. He runs his small vineyard (~7acres but growing) of old vines (50 - 100 years old) planted in Etna's famed volcanic soils at about 2,100 feet of elevation. He defines his natural/sustainable approach as 'only grapes + time - we release our wines only once ready.'