The Wine Pair Podcast

Italian Wine Adventure #21: Etna Rosso!

• The Wine Pair • Season 1 • Episode 199

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Etna Rosso is sometimes referred to as the “Burgundy of the Mediterranean” and for good reason. This wine, made on the slopes of Mt. Etna in Sicily from the grape Nerello Mascalese, is a serious gastronomic wine, loved by sommeliers and wine nerds for its complexity, depth, acidity, and firm tannic structure. While it is not quite at the level of demand as Barolo, Brunello, or Aglianico, just give it some time. Nerello Mascalese is an up-and-coming grape whose parentage includes Sangiovese - that’s right, the same grape in Brunello and Chianti - and it makes powerful wines that have a lot of aging potential. In fact, we thought both of the wines we tasted and reviewed in this episode could age for a while before they are truly at their prime, and need some good decanting to really open-up. Plus, if you are a White Lotus fan and remember the season where they were in Sicily, in one of the episodes they went to a winery and drank Etna Rosso and Etna Bianco (which just happens to be the subject of our episode next week!). Wines reviewed in this episode: 2021 Masseria Setteporte Etna Rosso, 2019 Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti

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Show Notes

Episode #199: Italian Wine Adventure #21: Etna Rosso!  00:00

Hello fellow Astringents! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair!

If you are new to our podcast, here is what you can expect. If you love wine and want to find great wines at affordable prices, and you want to expand your wine horizons, and you want to have some laughs and fun while doing it - then you are in the right place! Each week we explore a different wine varietal, style, brand, or region of the winemaking world, and learn about what makes them worth knowing about. And then we taste 2-3 of those wines that are reasonably priced to let you know if they are worth your hard earned money. If that feels like your vibe, then we are honored to make you an honorary member of our tribe. And, we are proud to say that Decanter Magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining.

Well, Carmela, it is our first episode of the new year, and we are excited to talk about another red wine from Sicily that has a bit of a stronger reputation than the wine we did several weeks ago. The wine this week is Etna Rosso which is made primarily from the Nerello Mascalese grape, and so this is in contrast to the Sicilian grape and wine we did a little bit ago called Nero d’Avola. In fact, Etna Rosso has started to be called by some “the Burgundy of the Mediterranean” which is pretty high praise, especially since we love red Burgundy wines like Pinot Noir and Gamay, so we need to see if this high praise is earned.

On a side note, this Italian Wine Adventure is kind of a two-parter. This week we are going to cover Etna Rosso, Rosso meaning red for red wine, and then next week we are going to cover Etna Bianco, Bianco meaning white for white wine wine. So, today is sort of part one, and like the two part Brady Bunch episode when they went to Hawaii and Greg had a major wipeout while trying to surf, you’ll have to tune back in next week to get part two and see how it all ends, unless of course you are listening to this episode as a re-run. And, by the way, that episode tripped me out as a kid. That tiki was taboo! The spider was no bueno.

But, I digress. We need to get to Etna Rosso, but before we do we have a few things we need to cover, starting first with Ted who gave us the name of the tribe this week. So, if you are ready, Carmela, we are going to have a little conversation with listener Ted . . .

Interview with listener Ted who gave us our tribe name this week! 03:42

A huge thank you to Ted for joining us this week, and Carmela, I will let you know that Ted said that the podcast gets better when we get to the tasting section and you become a bigger and bigger part of the conversation and share your excellent palate. And I agree. 

And, we say this every time, but we do love to do these interviews. Ted actually joined us for our virtual wine tasting in December which was really fun, and he was kind enough to also be willing to do this interview for the podcast. Now, if you have been thinking to yourself that you have a great idea for a tribe name but have been reluctant to reach out to us because maybe you think that your idea is just not good enough, just remember back to that Sesame Street song “Sing” where they use the immortal lyric “Don’t worry if it’s not good enough for anyone else to sing, just sing, sing a song.” It’s the same with your tribe name. Just name, name the tribe. 

Alright, we are just about to head out on our Italian Wine Adventure to learn more about Etna Rosso, but we have to interrupt the podcast to bring you this breaking news . . . 

WIne in the news this week: The Puro Verde Scandal 9:59


Our wine in the news this week story comes from Portugal in an article written by Sarah Neish in the online publication The Drinks Business entitled: Vinho Verde appellation officials arrested in wine fraud case. So many bad scandals in the wine business, amiright?!? And we have links to that article and a few others on the same subject in our show notes if you want to see if we are lying or not. But here is the deal. 

We always assume that if a bottle says "Vinho Verde" on the label, there is a guarantee that it actually is Vinho Verde, made from the right grapes, grown in the right region, and made to the right standards. Well, a massive police sting in Portugal just revealed that for some wines, that guarantee was being sold, and just wait until you hear what it was sold for.

On December 16th, Portuguese police launched "Operation Puro Verde" (Pure Green). This was a major raid involving about 80 inspectors in 21 different locations. They ended up arresting eight people, four of whom were actually officials from the Vinho Verde Viticulture Commission (CVRVV). That’s right! The very people who are supposed to be making sure that things are on the up-and-up are the same people who were cheating the system!  

Now, the question is how did they do it exactly? The police reports show that this scam centered on the recent 2025 Harvest. To make certified Vinho Verde, you have to prove your grapes come from a specific origin and were transported legally. To make sure that everything is happening legally, the authorities periodically do unannounced inspections, and that is where this scandal originates: the corrupt officials were allegedly tipping off the wineries about exactly when "surprise" inspections would happen. Cheaters!

This is how it works. During harvest, trucks are constantly arriving into wineries with grapes. If you are a producer wanting to sneak in "illegal" grapes, which may be grapes grown outside the official region or "excess" grapes that exceed legal yield limit, you can't do it while an inspector is around, obviously. You have to be more sneaky than that. What the corrupt officials would do is warn the wineries: "Inspectors are coming Tuesday morning,” and then the wineries would ensure only legitimate grape deliveries happened during that specific window. Once the inspectors left, the illegal or non-compliant grapes could be brought in, and the paperwork would be falsified later to make everything look official.

You would think in order to take part in this scandal the officials and inspectors would ask for a pretty penny in payback. But that was not the case. The investigation suggests these officials were selling out the region's reputation for petty bribes: things like fancy meals, free cases of wine, and tickets to events. So, my takeaway is, if you are going to do something bad, get paid well. Do your wrong right, right Carmela?!?

As of the latest news update, the four officials from the Vinho Verde Viticulture Commission have been suspended, and the investigation is trying to trace just how much of this "laundered" wine is currently sitting in tanks, waiting to be bottled and sold.

So, here is a question for you, Carmela

  • If you found out a wine we drank last week was made with these "illegal grapes,” meaning they were perfectly safe and maybe even delicious, but just from the wrong area, would you actually care?


But we are not here to talk about Vinho Verde commissions or dirty grapes, we are here to talk about the Sicilian wine Etna Rosso, the so-called Burgundy of the Mediterranean, and we have two Etna Rosso wines to learn about, taste, and review to see if they are worth seeking out  . . . 

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and remember, we buy all of our own wine so that we can give you real and honest reviews, and we do all of the writing and recording and editing to bring you a show every week because we love to do it for you, and all we ask for in return is that you please follow or subscribe to our podcast and also please leave us a nice 5 star rating and review  to help us grow our listeners - and a huge thank you to all of you who have done so already! 

You can also follow us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast, and on Bluesky. You can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there which just came out and you can also visit our “Shop Wine” section where you can find links to buy the wines that we rate as buys in each episode. I will also note that on our website, if you are curious about a wine we have covered in the past, we do have a pretty good search functionality, so you can use that find wines you want to know more about. 

And we want to make content you care about and you like, so send us a note or DM us and give us some feedback or let us know if there are wines you want us to try or wine making areas of the world you are curious about - and we’ll take care of it! joe@thewinepairpodcast.com
Shoutouts

  • Emma who reached out to say hi and asked us to take a look at more German, Austrian, and South African wines
  • Justin - said we are in for a surprise on Meiomi, and that he tried ruby port with ice cream. Said was very meh and looked gross and there is no need to try it!
  • East Idaho Foodies who thanked us for the virtual tasting and sent us ideas for some more tribe names
  • Hasini for the gift
  • Corked in CT who sent us a picture of a sparkling they had over the holidays
  • Lindsay who let us know that red wine and ice cream may not work, but vanilla ice cream and Pedro Ximenez sherry is his favorite dessert! He also suggested we look more into sherry, and so we are putting that on the list! He also said he loves Aligoté!
  • Clarice who sent us a tribe name and who we’ll try and get on the podcast soon


And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should recommend The Wine Pair Podcast to - because the best way for us to grow listeners is when you tell your family and friends about us - and this week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who loves red wines from Burgundy and is looking for a new wine to try that fits into that taste profile because they may really like this episode!

RESEARCH ARTICLES AND LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE


Topic: WTF is Etna Rosso? 18:41

Ok, Carmela. I think it’s time to find out just what the eff Etna Rosso is, don’t you think?!?

We should start off by noting that Etna Rosso is the name for the region, but not the grape or grapes the wine is made from. The key grape in Etna Rosso, and a grape you should know, is called Nerello Mascalese, and the other key grape that is part of the blend is called Nerello Cappuccio, sometimes also called Nerello Mantallato.

For some fun facts that you can put in your brain box and save for a really boring party, Nerello is a form of the word Nero meaning black which refers to the dark color of the grape skins, and the terms Mascalese in Nerello Mascalese refers to the region of Mascali in Sicily where the grape is likely to have come from. The word Capuccio in Nerello Capuccio translates to “hood” which refers to the shape of the leaves on the vine that look like hoods or cloaks. Incidentally, the other name for the grape, Nerello Mantallato has a similar meaning, the word Mantallato translating to mantle or cloak.

In a story that is familiar for a lot of these wines from up-and-coming regions, Etna Rosso did not always have such a good reputation, but that is changing with the increasing popularity especially among sommeliers of the grape Nerello Mascalese. DNA testing has shown that it is a cross between Sangiovese, which is the main grape in Chianti and Brunello, and a grape from Calabria, where my family is from, the region closest to Sicily, called Mantonico Bianco.

Nerello Mascalese is a late ripening grape with a thin skin that creates a grape with high acidity, firm tannins, and the potential for high alcohol content. Remember, tannins is what gives wine that sticky, drying-on-the-tongue quality, often reminiscent of black tea. Because it is considered a somewhat elegant wine with a red berry or cherry flavor profile and a light color, it is often compared to Pinot Noir, and because of its tannins, it is also compared to Nebbiolo.

Nerello Cappuccio is often added to the wine to mellow the wine down a bit. It is considered to be a softer, more delicate wine. It also can add a deeper color to the wine as well. To be considered true Etna Rosso, at least 80% of the wine must be made from Nerello Mascalese, and no more than 20% of the wine can be Nerello Cappuccio, although they are allowed to use up to 10% of other grape varietals including white wine grapes from the region to make up that 20% that is not Nerello Mascalese.

I should have probably mentioned this before, but the reason the wine is called Etna Rosso is because it is a red wine, rosso means red in Italian, and Etna refers to the volcanic mountain Mt. Etna, on the slopes of which the grapes are grown. So, while you can find Nerello Mascalese grown in areas like Sonoma in the US and in Australia, you can only find Etna Rosso from this specific region in Sicily.

Grape growing and wine making in Sicily and the Mount Etna region has been going on for thousands of years. It was the Greeks who are credited with bringing more advanced winemaking techniques to the region between 1800 and 500 BC. For a bit of cultural history, people in the area worshipped both the ancient Sicilian god of fire and volcanoes called Adranus and the gods of wine - Dionysus in Greek and Bacchus in Roman mythology.

Etna was a major wine supplier for the Roman empire, and for centuries, Etna was a major wine producer for much of Europe. In the 18th and 19th century, wine from Etna was exported all over Europe, but by the 20th century, it was becoming a bulk wine producer, and the high acid and alcohol wines it produced which were also inexpensive were used to “cut” wines in France and Northern Italy.

Although the wine did receive DOC status in 1968, the first DOC in Sicily, the wines had a reputation of being rustic, strong, heavy, and oxidized. Not awesome descriptors most of the time. The quality started to turn in the late 1980’s, and by 1993, with the release of the 1990 Rovittello wine from Giuseppe Benati, the wine started to get some positive attention and critical acclaim. In the early 2000’s, winemakers from outside of Sicily got involved, including the very influential Gaja family from Piedmont, makers of well regarded Barolo and Barbaresco, and the reputation really started to take off.

In 2011, they introduced the Contrade system in which very small sub-zones, 133 to be specific, were created, in a manner similar to the Cru system in France. This helped them to isolate specific terroirs and, as a result they were able to create highly unique and quality wines. The small sub-zones are defined by stone terraces that follow old lava flows, each with unique soils and microclimates, and so these terroir-specific wines are becoming highly sought after by wine collectors and sommeliers.

And, for more fun facts, in the White Lotus season in Sicily, the vineyard they visit is the Planeta vineyard where they drink Etna Bianco and Etna Rosso. More than enough reason to want to drink some Etna Rosso! https://cottagesgardens.com/the-white-lotus-wines/

So, on that note, I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?


Etna Rosso Wines We Chose for This Episode 26:48

As usual, both of the wines we have chosen for this episode are under $25, and they should be relatively easy to find because I bought them both at wine.com.  Etna Rosso is getting easier and easier to find, but you will need to look for a place with a good wine selection, and in particular a good Italian wine selection if you want to be sure you can hunt them down. And, as we always say, just talk to you local wine merchant and they will be happy to help you. 

The first wine we are going to try today is the 2021 Masseria Setteporte Etna Rosso, and this one got some good ratings including a 93 from Wine Spectator and a 90 from Decanter. I was able to find out some information about this wine, including that it is made from organically grown grapes. It is made from 95% Nerello Mascalese and 5% Nerello Cappuccio. Note there is a wine made by this same producer that is only Nerello Mascalese, but that will be a slightly different wine. This winery is in the commune of Biancavilla and is also certified organic if that is important to you.

One website I was able to find on the interwebs called Toast Wines had some information on how the wine was made, including that it was fermented in stainless steel tanks with skin contact for 8 days - which of course is how all wines get their color, from the skins - and, you’ll like this, Carmela, 2 to 3 days of pumping over. Yes! 

They do malolactic fermentation in barriques, 20% of which are new oak. So, again, malolactic fermentation is used to tamp down on the acid in a wine, and while barriques are small barrels that will impart more oak flavor, the fact that only 20% are new oak means that the oak will be more subtle. They also age the wine for 12 months in large neutral oak casks and concrete tanks which gives the wine some oxygen but does not impart oak flavor. Remember that neutral oak means used oak and used oak really gives very little oak flavor. And then they age it for a minimum of 8 months in the bottle, so these wines are getting a little time to age before they are released. 

The second wine we are going to try is the 2019 Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti which also received some great ratings like a 91 from Wine Spectator, a 90 from Vinous, and 92 from sucky James Suckling. This one has a slightly different blend ratio of 85% Nerello Mascalese and 15% Nerello Cappuccio.

Both of these wines are of course found in volcanic soil, but the tech sheet for this wine calls out the soil is very rich in minerals. They ferment the wine in stainless steel tanks for 10-15 days, so a little longer than the first wine, and they also use the pump over maceration technique, which sounds dirty, but it is not. They also use malolactic fermentation to reduce some of the acidity, and they note that they use a vegan fining agent to get rid of sediment. 

They also say they age the wine mainly in stainless steel vats, but that they also use tonneaux (spell it) which are really large wooden barrels that can hold the equivalent of 100 cases of wine or 900 liters, and these are barrels they traditionally use in Bordeaux for bulk storage and transport. So, they will impart very little oak flavor if used. They age the wines for just 4 months before bottling and age the wines in the bottle for only 5-6 months. So, I expect this wine to be a little lighter and fresher than the first wine which spends more time aging and on oak. 

One other interesting thing. On the bottle they show “720 M” because the vines grow on lava terraces at an average of 720 meters above sea level, or about 2,300 feet

But, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us to get some participation points, which you can trade-in for free stickers. You just need to send me an email with your mailing address, and I will get those “I drink with The Wine Pair Podcast” stickers over to you!


LINKS TO SOURCES FOR THESE SPECIFIC WINES


2021 Masseria Setteporte Etna Rosso, 2019 Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 31:56

Wine: Masseria Setteporte Etna Rosso (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: Italy, Sicily
Year: 2021
Price: $19.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 14%
Grapes: 95% Nerello Mascalese and 5% Nerello Cappuccio
Professional Rating: WS 93, D 90 Vivino 3.9

What we tasted and smelled in this Masseria Setteporte Etna Rosso: 

  • Color: Deep red almost Purple in color, opaque, 
  • On the nose: Earthy, clay pot, dark cherry, chocolate cherry, chocolate, plum, some sweetness, rich, spicy, grapey, clove, baking spice, currant, tangy or tart red fruit
  • In the mouth: Very tannic, feels like food wine, needs to be opened before drinking - not a lot of fruit yet, probably too young, very acidy, gritty and grainy tannins, dark cherry, pencil lead, very tight, astringent almost band-aid flavor on the end 


Food to pair with this Masseria Setteporte Etna Rosso: Spaghetti and meat sauce, meaty lasagna, grilled sausages, roast, stuffed bracciolli, charred meat lovers pizza, needs fatty foods, calzone, gastronomic wine - needs food
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, with no half points, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Masseria Setteporte Etna Rosso Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 7/10
  • Carmela: 6/10

Wine: Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: Italy, Sicily
Year: 2019
Price: $24.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: 85% Nerello Mascalese and 15% Nerello Cappuccio
Professional Rating: WS 91, V 90, JS 92 Vivino 3.7

What we tasted and smelled in this Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti: 

  • Color: Ruby red, on the verge of being purple, translucent
  • On the nose: Cherry, blackberry, clay pot, volcanic rock, crunchy red fruit, raspberry, cranberry, pomegranate
  • In the mouth: Cherry, olive, briny and salty, still feels young, tar, velvety tannins, watermelon rind


Food to pair with this Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti: Very versatile, fatty meats, antipasti platter, bolognese, spicy food, Chinese food, Teriyaki, salty food, fried chicken, fish and chips, sausage pizza with black olives, pesto, garlic bread, alfredo sauce. Sunday night dinner wine
 

Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 8/10
  • Carmela: 7/10



Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

  • Carmela: Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti
  • Joe: Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti



Taste profiles expected from Etna Rosso  46:13

  • General 
    • Wild strawberry, red cherry, raspberry, violet, rose, mint, cinnamon, black pepper, sweet baking spices, ash, flint, iron, graphite, gunpowder, floral, perfumed. 
  • Masseria Setteporte Etna Rosso
    • Winery: Rustic, mineral, at times even herbal, but with a smooth and generous fruity core.
    • WS: Some earth and cloves to the dark fruits here as well as dried flowers. Medium body with firm and silky tannins and lots of polish and focus. Elegant and sophisticated in a fine and fresh way. Crunchy.
    • D: Fresh lifted nose of cranberry and tobacco leading onto a palate exploding with pomegranate juice, mint and chocolate. Finely grained tannins line the finish, with a touch of green at the back.
  • Nicosia Etna Rosso Lenza di Munti
    • Winery: a complex and intense nose of red berries, aromatic herbs and spices. On the palate it is robust, well-balanced and persistent.
    • JS: Aromas of spiced cherry, toasted sage and hibiscus. Medium-bodied with gentle, silky tannins. Juicy and vibrant on the palate, with grounding notes of cardamom and wet stone.
    • WS: delicate and fine, showing a light garnet color and lean concentration. That elegant approach is enhanced by aromas of wild berry, dried lavender, grilled rosemary and savory earth or ash.
    • V: crushed raspberries, rubbed sage and hints of smoke. It’s softly textured and round in feel, with sour red berries motivated by zesty acids and a slight sour citrus twang. This finishes lightly structured and with a cheek-puckering tension, as rosy inner florals slowly fade.

What is the verdict on Etna Rosso? 48:50
Want to keep digging, and a good red wine to add to your collection and wine list. Open them early and decant them. Great for an Italian dinner.


Wines coming up in future episodes in case you want to drink along with us 49:43


Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 50:49

Ok, so, Carmela, it’s time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to follow or subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

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Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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