An exciting and very limited production red from Etna, a collaboration between Alberto Graci of Etna and the renowned Barbaresco legend Angelo Gaja. Together they own 21 hectares of vineyards in the villages of Belpasso and Biancavilla. Gaja and Graci first met in 2015 and began their joint venture in 2016. Currently the wine is made at Alberto Graci’s winery in Passopisciaro, but a dedicated winery is scheduled to be built at Belpasso to be used for the 2022 harvest. IDDA means 'SHE' in the Sicilian dialect and is the respectful and affectionate name Mount Etna is referred to. Made with the indigenous Sicilian grape variety, Nerello Mascalese which is common to the volcanic slopes of Etna.

Mount Etna: Etna is a DOC which covers the slopes of Mount Etna, the 3330 meter active volcano that dominates the Italian island of Sicily. It was the very first DOC on the island, created in August 1968. The most commonly produced form of Etna wine is the standard Etna Rosso, a red made predominantly from the Nerello Mascalese grape variety. Up to 20 percent of Nerello Cappuccio is permitted which is also known here as Nerello Mantellato. Etna's wine producers are experimenting with vineyard sites further and further up the volcano's slopes, to gauge the effects of the richer, blacker lava flow soils and increased altitude. This most extreme terroir may be tempting fate, but the cachet of owning high-altitude vineyards is growing, and early results from these vines show promise. From almost anywhere on Etna's slopes, looking eastwards will reveal how much light the glinting Mediterranean reflects back up onto the vines. The added sunshine hours helps to ripen the grapes more completely, even at cooler, higher altitudes. Ripeness is almost never a concern in Sicily, a place famous for its hot, bright, persistent sunshine.

Soil: The soils in Biancavilla are among the oldest of the entire Etna DOC denomination (60.000 years old – Ellittico period) The soil derives from an old lava flow; indeed its colour is lighter than typical, indicating a longer oxidation process. The pebbles are small and round, indicating an older state of decomposition. It is a less fertile soil than Belpasso. After harvest the grapes are fermented and macerated around three weeks partly in oak and partly in concrete vats. This is followed by 24 months of ageing in oak and concrete.

Weather: The 2019 vintage benefits from a long and slow growing season, just what the native red grapes of Etna prefer. The spring season saw a lot of rain for ample water reserves, and the weather then transitioned to a dry but not too hot summer season. The late harvest helped to develop structure and linearity in the wine.

Technical Information:
Grape varieties: 98% Nerello Mascalese & 2% Nerello Cappuccio
Vineyard: Biancavilla
Alcohol: 14 %
Closure: Cork
Production: 1500 bottles

Tasting Note: Pretty aroma of wild strawberry and redcurrant. Both charming and mouth-watering. Scented on the palate with those same red fruits. Finest of silky tannins though they still bite on the finish, suggesting potential longevity. - Tasted by Julia Harding MW

Gaja is one of the best-known wine producers in all of Italy. Originating in and still based in Barbaresco, in northwest Italy, the Gaja name remains most strongly associated with Nebbiolo-based wines, though the company now makes more wine in Tuscany than Piedmont.

The business was founded in 1859 by Giovanni Gaja with just two hectares (five acres) of vineyards in Barbaresco. Each generation saw expansion, although Angelo Gaja, who took over full-time in 1970, is often credited with the estate's more recent success.

Gaja is famous for having introduced Barbaresco wines to a wider audience and for modernizing Piedmont – introducing international grape varieties and winemaking practices more common in Bordeaux or California. However, traditional elements remain, such as long macerations and the use of larger oak barrels.

Gaja's move beyond Barbaresco started in 1988 with the acquisition of the Sperss vineyard in neighboring Barolo. Although Angelo Gaja has never announced his retirement, the company is run in conjunction with daughters Gaia and Rossana.

Alberto Aiello Graci has been making wine on Sicily's Mount Etna since 2004, the year he returned from his apprenticeship as a Milan banker, picking up the baton with 5 hectares of family land, 2 hectares of which is vineyards. As the Vice President of the Consorzio, that covers 300 hectares of Etna DOC, he's forever preoccupied with the quality of the wines now being produced. His patch is part 50 year old, 8500 high density, free-standing 'alberello' vines at 1000 metres above sea level that produce naturally low yields amid the black grainy soils, part younger trained vines on flatter, lower sandier terra. He prefers to tend his vines as naturally as possible.