Frank Cornelissen was in town showing off his new wines. It’s a series of single-vineyard wines from his 25 hectares and 19 plots on Mount Etna. ‘It’s the focus of my work,’ he says, ‘but less than 10% of my production.’ He’s held off making these wines before, because his winemaking wasn’t good enough to show all the nuances. ‘It took me 10 years to vinify in a better way to make this quality,’ says Frank. ‘I still have some fine tuning to do, but this will take time and money. The last 5-10% of quality costs as much as the previous 90%.’
Frank uses epoxy-lined amphorae to make these wines, and his goal is to produce wines that allow us to taste the vineyard. He’s convinced that the future of Etna is parcellation. ‘It is a booming area to the professionals,’ he says, ‘but for the consumer it is not yet known. This will come.’
Continue reading “New releases from Frank Cornelissen: single-vineyard Etna wines (Jamie Goode)”
Part-historic winery and part-boutique hotel, Tenuta di Fessina is completely magical. The property’s 17th-century buildings on the north-eastern slopes of Etna have been styled into stunning suites (seven in total), tasting rooms, barrel cellars, and a refurbished palmento (a traditional pressing room). In a curving amphitheatre layout, terraced vineyards surround the stylish property, the vines getting progressively older as you move farther away. Fessina’s vineyards are also lush with olive, fig, peach, almond, and cherry trees—a throwback to older, more rustic times when survival was the main concern of farmers. Sip the silky, fragrant, and finessed Laeneo, made from 100% local red Nerello Cappuccio grapes, which is very rare and original—even for this terroir—and reminds us that the power of Sicilian wine lies in its authentic diversity. 
