Ellonero

Curiosity

“ElloNero” is a word with a double meaning: “Lui è Nero (He is Black)” or “Nerello” referring to the Nerello Mascalese grape used for its production. “ElloNero” was born from a specific project aimed at the maximum expression of the Etna area. Selected yeasts are not used; but rather the start of fermentation takes place through the choice of one of the different “pied de cuve” produced a few weeks before. This technique allows to guarantee the natural sequence of both “Saccharomyces” and “non” yeasts, ensuring a “biodiverse” final product, far from common tastes and sensations. “No adjuvants are added to achieve any stability, nature has already thought of this!” Marco and Claudio Battiato

“At the first event we attended with ElloNero and which represented our first real commercial appointment, we aroused the interest of various operators in the sector, so much so that we sold the whole product. This event gave us enormous confidence, we understood that the path we took was the right one ”Marco and Claudio Battiato

Author Suggestion

“A complex, harmonious, bold and persistent wine. We love to drink it even after a light decantation. Its evolution is extraordinary enough to surprise us with every sip. ” Marco and Claudio Battiato

Wine Tips

The Etna DOC specification is the oldest in the Sicily region dated August 1968. Etna Rosso DOC, specifically, is mainly produced from Nerello Mascalese grapes (minimum 80%) with the optional provision of a small addition of Nerello Hood (up to 20%). The production area of ​​the grapes suitable for the production of wines with a denomination of controlled origin “Etna” falls within the province of Catania and includes the lands of part of the territories of the municipalities of Biancavilia, Santa Maria di Licodia, Paternò, Belpasso, Nicolosi, Pedara, Trecastagni, Viagrande, Aci Sant’Antonio, Acireale, Santa Venerina, Giarre, Mascali, Zafferana, Milo, Sant’Alfio, Piedimonte, Linguaglossa, Castiglione, Randazzo.
The province of Catania and the Etna villages are the land of the most ancient Sicilian agricultural civilization; the first testimonies of agricultural communities refer to the Neolithic. This part of eastern Sicily was the first to be colonized by the Greeks (729 BC) and in the 8th century B.C. he already knew the wine and the vine.
Between 1880 and 1885 Catania was the Sicilian province with the most vineyards with over 90,000 hectares of vineyards; but the invasion of phylloxera in the early 1900s halved the hectares of vineyards, bringing them to 40,000. Furthermore, the reduction in the area under vines over time is also due to the frequent eruptions of Etna and the objective difficulties of a so-called “heroic” viticulture, where the vineyards, due to the steep slopes, are largely terraced and where, precisely because of this characteristic , the cultivation operations are mostly carried out manually, thus entailing very high costs.
One of the most suggestive combinations with red Etna is precisely the “pasta with grape harvest sauce” macaroni with tomato extract, onion, plenty of olive oil and grated Sicilian aged pecorino. An evocative combination of Etna’s agricultural and rural tradition.