With Famiglia Catania at GULFI, Salvo Foti is making top rated wines including the Crus from Pachino that are regularly listed among top italian bottles. With Salvo, Gulfi is also producing a rare Etna wine called Reseca. In fact, when you speak about the wines of eastern Sicily and especially the wines from Etna, it is impossible not to mention the name Salvo Foti. A native of the city of Catania, Salvo studied enology and began his career in 1981 as a technical and agrarian advisor to some noted estates in eastern Sicily. A number of years ago, Salvo’s love of the grapes and soils of Etna, in particular, led him to initiate a project called I Vigneri. It takes its name from an association that existed in the Etna region in 1435, Maestranzi dei Vigneri, an association of vineyard workers that greatly influenced the wine culture of the Etna region. Today, I Vigneri is an association between Salvo Foti, other vine experts and local grape growers who bring their long experience among the particular vines of Etna to their work in the vineyard and cellar.
At extreme altitude, Salvo takes care of a unique vineyard. Vinudilice is produced in Vigna Bosco, a vineyard tucked away in vast forest (Bosco, in Italian, and thus its name) of holly oak (Quercus Ilex) near Bronte on the north face of Etna, at an elevation of 1,300 meters above sea level (3,900 feet) which makes it the highest vineyard in Europe. Local varieties of Alicante, Grecanico, Minnella and other lesser-known grapes make up this tiny century-old vineyard of about 0.35 hectares. Cultivation is carried out using Etnean Alberello, or bush training, at 1mx1m distancing, with an equivalent density of 10,000 vines per hectare. It is harvested by hand, using only a mule. Winemaking and vinification do not include the use of refrigeration, yeasts, sulphites or filtration. Siphoning and decanting is carried out following lunar cycles.
For this 2013 vintage, Salvo Foti decided to harvest this parcel on November 4th (see some pictures here). No fertilizer, herbicide or pesticide used. Fermentations will be done in open oak vats, without enzymes or thermal control (the nights by this time of year are quite cold). There is very little sulfur used on the grapes or must, if at all. Racking and bottling will be done under lunar cycle. The wines will be bottled with little or no filtration. Salvo says that a living wine has its own composition that arises from its own variables: the grape, the vine, the vineyard, the climatic conditions and the individual (vineyard worker and vinifier). For Salvo, it’s important that there is harmony and respect for each variable to make a wine that truly sings. For this vintage again, a rosé wine called Vinudilice will be made from Europe’s highest vineyard. And like all Famiglia Catania’s wines, this Vinudilice will be unique…
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