Etna's Pioneers, Volcanic Soul
Vino di Anna is one of Sicily's most visionary natural wine estates — a small, family-run property situated high on the north face of Mount Etna, near the village of Solicchiata. Founded in 2008 by Anna Martens, an Australian-trained oenologist, and Eric Narioo, a French-born wine importer, Vino di Anna emerged as one of the earliest projects to re-discover and redefine Etna's abandoned vineyards. Today they farm eight hectares of terraced, biodynamic vineyards at altitudes of 600–1200 metres, working with 60–100+ year-old bush vines of Nerello Mascalese and indigenous white varieties. Their wines are made with zero or minimal sulfur, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and vinified in a remarkable array of vessels including a 300-year-old traditional palmento, Georgian qvevri buried underground, chestnut barrels, and lava-stone vats. This is not merely winemaking; it is a dialogue between ancient tradition and volcanic terroir.
From Adelaide to the Volcano
The Vino di Anna story begins with Anna Martens, originally from Adelaide, South Australia, who trained formally as an oenologist and began her career at Petaluma in the Adelaide Hills, where she stayed for a decade. She left Australia and found herself in Tuscany, making wine at the Supertuscan estate Tenuta dell'Ornellaia. It was there she met Andrea Franchetti, who led her to Mount Etna — she worked at his celebrated estate Passopisciaro for three years, becoming deeply immersed in the volcano's unique viticultural potential.
Eric Narioo, her partner, is from France and founded the UK wine importing business Les Caves de Pyrene. Together, they became so enamoured by Etna's volcanic soils, abandoned terraces, and immense possibility that they decided to make wine together here. In 2008, they produced their first wine. In 2010, they purchased their first vineyard of old bush vines of Nerello Mascalese in Contrada Crasà, along with a neighbouring derelict 250-year-old Etnean palmento and wine building which they restored. "Vino di Anna" was officially born.
They were among the very first to explore and re-discover Etna's important vineyards in these years, contemporaneous with Andrea Franchetti and Frank Cornelissen. As such, they are among the few true pioneers for rendering sensitive, terroir-specific wines in what was once an abandoned area for vines and winemaking. Today, with a team of Etna locals, they tend eight hectares of terraced land divided into small vineyard plots, as well as olive groves scattered across the north face of the volcano.
The couple also owns two hectares in the isolated contrada Pirao, which borders the National Park at an altitude of 1000 metres. Here their most ethereal red wine is produced in minuscule quantities. They have extended their winery and buried nine Georgian qvevri of varying sizes in their cellar — handmade by artisan Zaaliko Bodjadze in his workshop west of Tbilisi, using pure clay sourced high in the Caucasus Mountains.
"I was introduced to these wines for the first time by our dear friend... I was mesmerized. It was the very beginning of my wine importing career and there were many many bottles that day… but the one that stayed with me and was on the brain when I woke the next day, was that delicious Nerello Mascalese."
— Hootananny Wines
Biodynamic Terraces, Volcanic Soils & Extreme Altitude
Vino di Anna's vineyards are farmed biodynamically and organically, tended entirely by hand across steep, terraced slopes that make machinery impossible. The vines are all alberello (bush vines), individually staked with chestnut wooden posts, and range in age from 40 to over 100 years old. The altitude of the vineyards ranges from 600 to 1200 metres above sea level — an extreme span that creates remarkable diversity in microclimate and ripening.
The soils are black and dark grey basalt, sometimes sandy, often rocky, formed over hundreds of years from different lava flows. They are rich in minerals, resulting in wines with high acidity, taut structure, and sapid, mineral notes. The volcano is in constant eruption, often sprinkling the vineyards with fresh cinders — a living, breathing terroir that changes year by year. The climate is extreme: hot days, cold nights, and the constant threat of volcanic activity make it both an exciting and challenging place to make natural wine.
The vineyard heart of the domaine is in the single-vineyard Contrada Crasà, where the winery and family home are located. 'Vigna Jules,' their first purchased vineyard, is a 0.45 ha plot of 90-year-old bush vines with deep red and brown silty soils. 'Vigna Gaspard,' planted in 2014–15, is an amphitheatre of terraces using massale selection cuttings planted own-rooted in the traditional quincunx high-density format. Other key sites include the secluded, 100-year-old Don Alfio vineyard in Contrada Piano Filici; the renowned Contrada Rampante above Passopisciaro; and the high-altitude white vineyards in Contrada Nave and Tartaraci near Maletto.
Nerello Mascalese is the principal red grape, a dark-skinned variety that thrives in Etna's mineral-rich volcanic soils. Small quantities of Nerello Cappuccio, Alicante (Grenache), and indigenous white varieties — Grecanico, Catarratto, Carricante, Minnella Bianca, and Uva Francese Bianca — are co-planted throughout many vineyards, as was the tradition in the area. The white varieties are concentrated on the northwestern side of the volcano, where higher altitudes and cooler temperatures preserve acidity and aromatic complexity.
Certified organic with biodynamic practices. No agrochemicals. All work done by hand on steep terraces. Bush vines individually staked with chestnut posts. Extreme labour, maximum attention. Farmed with a team of Etna locals.
Black and dark grey basalt, sandy and rocky. Formed from centuries of lava flows. Rich in minerals. High acidity, taut structure, sapid mineral notes. Fresh volcanic cinders sprinkled annually. Living, breathing terroir.
600–1200 metres above sea level. Hot days, cold nights. Constant volcanic threat. Diverse microclimates across contrade. White varieties at highest altitudes (900–1200m). Reds across mid-to-high slopes. Unique tension and freshness.
40–100+ year-old alberello vines. Massale selection from reputable old vineyards. Own-rooted in traditional quincunx format. Extremely low yields. Deep root systems in volcanic soils. Concentration and complexity impossible from young vines.
Palmento & Qvevri, Indigenous Yeasts & Zero Sulfur
In the cellar, Anna and Eric practice minimum intervention — a philosophy that has been in place since the very first vintage. Fermentation is always by indigenous yeasts at ambient temperature. No additives are used. Wines are vinified and aged in a remarkable diversity of vessels: lava-stone palmento, chestnut barrels, French oak, Georgian qvevri, glass demi-johns, and stainless steel — all dependent on the cuvée and vineyard. The wines are naturally clarified by gravity and are not filtered. Zero or minuscule quantities of SO₂ are added, only when deemed a necessity for stability.
The palmento is the spiritual heart of Vino di Anna's winemaking. This 300-year-old traditional Etnean structure is a multi-level winery carved into the rock. The top level contains vats where grapes are foot-trodden. The free-run juice flows into another vat on the next level where it ferments. The remaining skins are pressed under a wicker mat (a 'donkey') and the extracted juice joins the free-run below. The wine then descends another level into barrels. It is an ancient, gravity-fed system that requires no pumps or electricity — pure tradition.
The qvevri programme represents their deepest commitment to ancient winemaking. Nine handmade Georgian qvevri are buried in an underground cellar wing. These vessels, crafted by Zaaliko Bodjadze using pure Caucasus clay, are sealed after fermentation to allow months of skin maceration. The qvevri wines are not made every year — the grapes must be in perfect health with sufficient depth and complexity to warrant this extended, profound vinification.
The techniques vary by cuvée but share common threads:
Harvest: All grapes are hand-harvested in September and October, seeking both proper ripeness and balance. Timing is critical on Etna — harvest can stretch across weeks as different altitudes and exposures ripen at different rates.
Red Winemaking: The "Palmento Rosso" sees 40% whole bunches thrown into lava-stone vats, with 60% hand-destemmed on top. Fermentation starts spontaneously, with 4–5 days maceration and daily foot-treading or plunging. The "Jeudi 15" uses 80% destemmed grapes with 20% whole bunch, fermented in open wooden fermenters and mastellone (10hl plastic tubs) for 10–12 days with daily plunging. The "Qvevri Rosso Rampante" is hand-destemmed into 1200L qvevri, sealed for four weeks of post-fermentation maceration, then aged two winters in chestnut.
White Winemaking: The "Bianco G" is 90% Grecanico (including Grecanico Dorato) with 10% Carricante. The Grecanico sees four days of skin maceration with gentle foot-treading, then fermentation in glass wine globes and demi-johns. The Carricante ferments in chestnut barrel. The "Jeudi 15 Bianco" blends Carricante from sandstone subsoils (direct-pressed, chestnut barrel) with Catarratto and Grecanico from river stone soils (stainless steel). The "Bianco Nave" from 1100–1200m altitude is direct-pressed as whole bunches into chestnut barrel, aged 18 months on lees.
Bottling: No fining. No filtration. Zero or minimal SO₂ — typically 20ppm when added, often nothing at all. The wines are bottled by gravity and aged further before release.
Qvevri Rosso "Rampante" — "Two Winters in Chestnut"
The "Qvevri Rosso Rampante" is Vino di Anna's most profound expression of Etna's volcanic soul — a Nerello Mascalese from one of the volcano's most celebrated contrade, vinified in the ancient Georgian tradition and aged with extraordinary patience.
In 2015, Anna and Eric purchased a 1.5ha plot in Contrada Rampante, above the village of Passopisciaro on Etna's north face. Half the property was 80–100 year-old bush vines of Nerello Mascalese with a sprinkling of Nerello Cappuccio; the rest was century-old olive trees, fruit trees, and wild scrub. They farmed this vineyard biodynamically for eight years to bring it back to full health before making this wine.
For the 2022 vintage, the grapes were hand-harvested on October 5th and hand-destemmed into a 1200L Georgian qvevri buried in the cellar. Spontaneous fermentation proceeded without temperature control; when finished, the qvevri was sealed and the new wine left to macerate for four weeks on skins, during which time malolactic fermentation completed. After pressing, the wine spent two winters in a chestnut barrel on fine lees, prior to bottling in February 2024 — unfined, unfiltered, and with zero added sulfur.
In the glass, it is deep garnet with volcanic intensity. The nose is a complex weave of red cherry, wild herbs, smoke, and a distinct mineral backbone that speaks directly to the basalt soils. The palate is taut and structured, with fine, grippy tannins, vibrant acidity, and a long, savoury finish that evolves from red fruit to ash and finally to a stony, almost saline note. This is not a wine for casual drinking; it is a wine for contemplation, for proving that Etna belongs in the global conversation alongside the great volcanic wines of the world. Serve at 16–18°C. Decant. Age 10–15 years. ~$75–$95 / ~€70–€85.
The Vino di Anna Range
Anna Martens and Eric Narioo produce a wide, terroir-driven portfolio from biodynamically farmed vineyards across Mount Etna's north face. All wines are hand-harvested, spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts, and bottled with zero or minimal sulfur. No fining, no filtration. The portfolio spans palmento-aged field blends, qvevri wines, single-vineyard expressions, and multi-vintage cuvées — all made exclusively from indigenous Sicilian varieties. Prices are approximate and in USD/EUR.