Vulcano Vineyard - Aeolian Islands
The company “SOFFIO SULLE ISOLE” (“BREATH UPON THE ISLANDS”) was founded on the island Vulcano in 2010. This is one of the seven Islands that form the Aeolian archipelago in Sicily. Since ancient times Vulcano has been famous for its intense volcanic activity. Almost uninhabited and with two bays facing each other, one on the west and the other on the east, the island often served as a shelter for the Tyrrhenian pirates. Several decades before the last eruption of 1888-90, when the crater had ceased its activity, a small number of farmers lived on the PIANO, a very fertile island area where some fields are still cultivated. This is where we decided to establish our company.
Our vineyard is planted on soil of high fertility, on the territory of the PIANO. This plain is situated at the height of 420 meters above sea level.
One of the company’s choice was to plant a vine which is not native to sicily. We are talking about one of the Sangiovese’s clone called CILIEGIOLO. This suggestion was made by Pippo Privitera (“Cantine Privitera since 1929”). And this wasn’t his first time. Thirty years ago he brilliantly planted Sangiovese on the Sicilian soil remembering that the product quality depends not only on genius but also on a pure sacrifice.
The territory “o Chianu” is fertile, full of iron and minerals. Its black sand is very thin. These characteristics were reflected in a red wine that earned a good name amongst wine producers.
The first vintage of 2012 gave us the idea what the label for this wine could be. It took the name of the company, “Soffio sulle Isole”, and the image created by a painter G. Livio, who was inspired by the view that opens on the other archipelago islands from our vineyard – a breathtaking panorama. You can see Aeolus in the foreground of the label that blows upon these marvelous Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The winery “Cantine Privitera” has planted vines on Mount Etna since 1929. This experience allowed the company “Soffio sulle Isole” to begin the immediate production on the territory where the weather conditions often play bad jokes.
Having an intense red colour, our wine sums up all the characteristics of a volcano wine. It pairs well with foods of all sorts and it goes well with spicy meat especially well. Its bouquet and taste is with no doubt a product of the territory that gave it birth.
We have also planted Malvasia of Lipari on our vineyard . At the moment it’s just an experiment. In fact, during the first vintage of this famous vine we decided to use a light fermentation in order to get a white wine with a beautiful fragrance. It came out light, slightly sweet and perfumed. We bottled limited quantities in bottles of 75cl. That’s how the second wine label “Donna allo Specchio” was created embodying the work of the same artist Livio.
Taking into account all the difficulties that you can face in a territory that is reachable only by sea, we are really glad and proud of the work we have done on this island. It was worth doing, moreover, … we already intend to plant a second vineyard that will increase our production remarkably.
