2022 I Vigneri di Salvo Foti “Vinupetra” Etna Rosso
Vinupetra is a prized parcel in the Calderara Sottana contrada, home to some of Etna’s oldest vines. Fermented with native
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Producer
I Vigneri
I have reviewed five wines from I Vigneri, from the 2022 to 2023 vintages, all from Etna. Scores range from 93 to 96, averaging 94; the highest is the 2023 I Vigneri di Salvo Foti “Vinudilice” Etna Rosato (96 points).
I Vigneri is the project of Salvo Foti, the agronomist and winemaker who spent decades shaping Etna’s modern revival before founding it in 2009. The name revives the Maestranza dei Vigneri, a guild of vine growers established in Catania in 1435, and the philosophy is deliberately archaic: alberello bush vines on their own roots, chestnut stakes, mules on the terraces and fermentation in traditional palmenti.
The holdings span the mountain. Vigna di Milo is 100% Carricante from 800 metres on the east slope, fermented and aged in neutral casks: one of Etna’s benchmark single-vineyard whites, tightly wound, mineral and immensely age-worthy. Aurora, from high vineyards on the northern slopes, is Carricante with a touch of Minnella, taut and citrusy. Vinudilice comes from a pre-phylloxera vineyard above 1,300 metres on the mountain’s northern edge, a field blend of red and white grapes co-planted and co-fermented into an extraordinary, weightless rosato.
Among the reds, the I Vigneri Etna Rosso blends Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio from bush vines and ages in large casks, while Vinupetra comes from a prized parcel of some of Etna’s oldest vines in the Calderara Sottana contrada, fermented with native yeasts into a serious, cellar-worthy wine of sour cherry, smoke and incense. The wines are ethereal, savory and unmistakably volcanic.
Wine Reviews for I Vigneri
2023 I Vigneri di Salvo Foti “Aurora” Etna Bianco
From high-altitude vineyards on Etna’s northern slopes, “Aurora” is Carricante with a touch of Minnella. The volcanic soils lend a
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2023 I Vigneri di Salvo Foti “I Vigneri” Etna Rosso
This flagship Etna Rosso blends Nerello, Mascalese, and Nerello Cappuccio from bush-trained vines on Etna’s slopes. Aged in large casks,
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2023 I Vigneri di Salvo Foti “Vinudilice” Etna Rosato
From a pre-phylloxera vineyard at over 1,300m on Mount Etna’s northern edge, this pale rosato is a field blend of
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2022 I Vigneri di Salvo Foti “Vigna di Milo” Etna Bianco Superiore
One of Etna’s benchmark single-vineyard whites, “Vigna di Milo” is 100% Carricante from an 800m elevation. Fermented and aged in
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