Carricante

Carricante is the white grape of Etna, grown on the slopes of an active volcano in eastern Sicily, and it produces one of the most distinctive white wines in Italy. The name comes from the dialect for loading, a reference to how heavily the vine used to crop before yields were brought under control.

Etna's vineyards are terraced on black volcanic soil at altitudes from 400 to over 1,000 metres, which in Sicily is the only way to get a white wine with real acidity. Carricante is planted highest of all, particularly on the eastern flank around Milo, the only place permitted to use the Etna Bianco Superiore designation and the coolest, wettest side of the mountain.

The wine is bone dry, taut and high in acid, with green apple, lemon and white flowers over a smoky, ashy, distinctly volcanic mineral character and a saline finish. Young, it can seem austere to the point of severity. It is one of those whites that genuinely needs time: after five years it fills out, developing a waxy, honeyed, nutty depth without losing its acidity, and the best examples last twenty.

Malic acid is unusually high in Carricante, and many producers allow malolactic fermentation to soften it — a decision that divides opinion, since it costs some of the wine's nervous tension.

Etna's revival since the early 2000s has drawn considerable outside investment and attention, and Carricante has gone from an obscure local grape to a wine on serious lists worldwide in about twenty years.