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Etna. The wines of the Volcano
Salvo Foti
14x21,4, ISBN 978-88-7751-463-9,
pagg. 200,48
ill. - Cod: 202003
Every bottle of wine is a book to be carefully read. We should know
something about
the author, the setting and when it was written. From each bottle we will
learn an
always changing story, which can be constantly traced back to the
territory, vines and
culture of the women and men who produced it. Before evaluating or
criticizing a
wine, as we should do with people, we need to study the bottle we are
tasting. We
must let knowledge take precedent over judgment. Knowing helps us
understand and
carry out a solid assessment. A “fine wine” is a balanced and complex wine.
Balance
and harmony in a wine are something intrinsic, immediately perceived by all
our
senses.
This includes hearing, as every wine poured into the glass has its own
sound. These
perceptions come from far away – the grapes, vineyard, vine, environment
(climate
and soil), people (individuals and culture). A balanced vine, with the
correct leaf-fruit
surface ratio, adapted to the environment and in keeping with the woman or
man who
cultivates it, can only give a harmonious and complex wine.
It is impossible to define what a quality wine is. This would be like
defining or finding
a flawless man or woman. Our way of being, as well as wine, is relative. It
depends on
the environment (the area) where you live, your past (vineyard and
varieties), the
present (the vintage), your culture (the winegrower, the winemaker), a
specific
moment (winemaking) as well as the future (refining and ageing).
There are two types of wine: the wine of a person and the wine of people.
The former
has a lifetime associated with a person, while the latter depends on a
civilization, a
territory, and goes beyond, outliving a single man or woman.
Wine from Mt. Etna means wine of the people.
Index:
Premise, Salvo Foti – Preface, Rocco Di Stefano – Between history and
mythology –
The palmento of Mt. Etna – The etnean Alberello beauty and excellence –
The
antique winemaking traditions of Etna – Bygone stories – I Vigneri – The
pedoclimatic
environment of Mt. Etna – Contrade and faces of Mt. Etna – Current
situation –
Climate change – Viticulture and the environment – Wine, humankind and
nature – Mt.
Etna’s indigenous grapes – Etna’s verticality – Minerality – Ancient
vineyards and new
technology for high-quality wines – The products of Mt. Etna – Notes –
References
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