Whispers from Mount Etna – The Al-Cantàra Experience
Where wine becomes poetry, and the volcano never sleeps
Jan W. de Weerd
This will hide itself!
Whispers from Mount Etna – The Al-Cantàra Experience
Where wine becomes poetry, and the volcano never sleeps
On a picture-perfect day beneath bright blue skies, we arrived at Al-Cantàra—and the volcano was breathing. Etna is alive, after all, and gentle plumes of steam drifted from its summit. But there was more than that—something quieter, older. A soothing, peaceful presence seemed to whisper through the vineyards. This is the story of Al-Cantàra—a place where terroir, creativity, and emotion intertwine, as told by Giovanni Salvo, assistant winemaker and our host for the day.
Lava-Rich Terroir and the Voice of Mt. Etna
Al-Cantàra means "the bridge," named for the way the vineyards stretch between the Alcantara River to the west and Mount Etna to the east. Here, intense sunlight meets the cool breezes rising from the river, and the vines root deeply into mineral-rich volcanic soils. This unique terroir gifts their grapes an expressive, layered complexity. Pinot Noir—rare here in Sicily—carries an unexpected freshness and a spiced elegance, while the native varieties, Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, unfold with wild, earthy structure, bright fruit, and powerful aromatics. Every bottle is a direct translation of the land’s energy and the volcano’s timeless whisper. Each bottle carries a little of Etna’s fire—and a lot of its soul.
The volcano whispers through the terroir
A Pinot Noir and Native Varietals Like No Other
Pinot Noir is not the grape you expect to find on a volcano in Sicily.
And yet, at Al-Cantàra, it thrives—lifted by the elevation, cooled by the nearby river, and rooted in ash. Their Pinot offers tension and vivid minerality, a wine both delicate and fierce.
Nerello Mascalese, with its firm tannins and spice, and Nerello Cappuccio, lending soft fruit and floral notes, have been shaped by Etna for centuries—brought here by the Greeks over 2,000 years ago. Together, they capture the grit, beauty, and endurance of this land.
Today, Al-Cantàra expresses Nerello Mascalese in an unexpected way: a blanc de noir—a radiant white wine crafted from red grapes. An astonishingly aromatic, expressive white wine lifted by the unmistakable spice of Nerello Mascalese.
The winemaking here is light-handed—designed to let the volcanic voice of the terroir come through in every sip. You don’t just taste these wines. You feel where they come from.
The wines capture the grit, beauty, and endurance of the land
When Wine Becomes Art—The Expression Beyond the Bottle
At Al-Cantàra, the story doesn’t end with what's inside the bottle. The winery collaborates with visual artists to create striking, imaginative labels that mirror the spirit of each wine. Every label is a piece of art and carries a poem that invites you to pause, look deeper, and step into the world the wine comes from.
Just as the volcanic earth imprints its mark on the vines, the artwork completes the sensory journey, making every bottle not just a drink to savor, but an experience to remember. And true to their name, this fusion of wine and art builds a bridge—between disciplines, between senses, between people.
