It all began with a glass of wine in a downtown Chicago restaurant. A single sip from a bottle of Etna Rosso stopped us mid-conversation. It wasn’t from France—it was from a volcano. From Mount Etna, Sicily. The wine came from a tiny vineyard called Guardiola Contrada, high on the northern slopes of of a live volcano. The moment we tasted it, we felt it calling to us. The same call that had drawn Marco de Grazia to these slopes two decades earlier—so powerful, he never left. Marco followed his vision to craft high-quality cru wines from Mount Etna’s ancient, terraced vineyards. We followed ours to find the source. Today, we meet at Terre Nere—where lava, light, and philosophy meet together with the wine. Terre Nere is the Burgundy of Sicily, not just in spirit, but in structure: site-specific wines from micro-terroirs, classified and crafted with elegance and precision. Here, wine is more than a drink. It’s a dialogue with the mountain.

Mt. Etna, Sicily – Italy Al-Cantàra is a winery where wine, poetry, and art come together in perfect harmony to reflect the voice of Mt. Etna. Set on the northern slope of the volcano, the wines here are vibrant, expressive, and full of life—just like the land itself. The name means “the bridge,” and that’s exactly what the winery offers—a connection between land and expression, rich history and creativity. Here, every label is a canvas and every bottle a story, and where experiencing the wine is a connection to the volcano’s quiet whisper.

Machetti Wines is not a business built for export or scale. It’s personal. They make Rosso Toscano and extra virgin olive oil in limited quantities. They do so by simply taking what the land will give them each year and crafted for friends, family, and the local community. The wine can widely vary depending on the season, the weather and the harvest conditions because the wine is made without any further interference. The grapes are harvested all at the same time, de-stemmed, fermented (spontaneous) in stainless steel, and aged in a concrete vat. In 2024 everything came together perfectly and an incredible wine was born.