Tasting Notes
The Pirrera comes from a single contrada located at 850 meters in altitude. The name of the vineyard, Pirrera, stems from the presence of volcanic stones which were extracted from a quarry during a lava flow in 1614. The vineyard had been largely abandoned and is slowly being restored by Eduardo. Lighter and fresher than the Versante Nord due to the higher attitude, this is a blend of 90% Nerello Mascalese and 10% local varieties from vines of 50 plus years. The wine is made via spontaneous fermentation in cement tanks with 15 days on the skins and no temperature control then aged 16 months in 25hl Slavonian oak botte. This is a lighter and fresher version of Nerello Mascalese. - Louis Dressner
Eduardo Torres Acosta, a young winemaker from the Canary Islands, first began working with vines in Tenerife, where his father, a local postman, had a small plot of land. In 2012 Eduardo moved to Sicily, where he interned at Arianna (you may have heard of it). Soon thereafter he got a job as the enologist at Azienda Passopisciaro, one of the pioneers of new wave Etna producers. Despite Eduardo's "outsider" status, he managed to rent several fine parcels on Etna from locals. The grapes are harvested and then trucked to Arianna Occhipinti's estate in Vittoria. Since the winemaking facility is not on Etna, the wines are not allowed DO status and simply carry the IGT Terre Siciliane designation. - Louis Dressner
Product Type | Wine Red Other Varietals & Blends |
Volume | 750ml |
Country | Italy |
Region | Sicily |
Sub Region | Etna |
Winemaking Practices | Minimal Intervention |
Vineyard Practices | Organic/Biodynamic |