Belgian wine merchant Frank Cornelissen established his estate on Etna's north slope in 2001, working without added sulphur. His Magma cuvée comes from ungrafted pre-phylloxera Nerello vines above 1,000 metres in the Solicchiata zone, in production runs of around 2,000 bottles.
Signature wines: cornelissen-magma, cornelissen-munjebel-rosso, cornelissen-munjebel-bianco
Address: Via Canonico Zumbo 1, Passopisciaro, 95012 Castiglione di Sicilia (CT), Sicily, Italy
Founded in 1980 by Giambattista Cilia, Cirino Strano and Giusto Occhipinti, COS adopted biodynamic farming and amphora (pithos) fermentation in Sicily from the 1990s.
Tasting: Winery visits by reservation only. Contact via the COS website or telephone (+39 0932 876145).
Signature wines: cos-cerasuolo-di-vittoria, cos-pithos-rosso, cos-rami
Arianna Occhipinti started with one hectare along the SP68 road in 2004 and has grown to 40 hectares farmed organically and biodynamically. Her SP68 Rosso blends Frappato and Nero d'Avola from low-yielding organic plots and is distributed widely through specialist natural-wine importers.
Tasting: Visits by reservation year-round, mornings or afternoons. Vineyard walk, cellar tour and wine and oil tasting with olives and bruschetta. Languages: Italian, English, French. Contact +39 0932 1865519.
Signature wines: occhipinti-sp68-rosso, occhipinti-sp68-bianco, occhipinti-siccagno
Six generations of the Jacono family have farmed these 70 hectares in the Ragusa province. Gaetana Jacono runs the estate, producing organic Frappato and Nero d'Avola that anchor their acclaimed Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG blend.
Tasting: Classic wine tastings, chef-led pairings, cooking courses and vineyard walks at the Acate estate.
Signature wines: valle-acate-cerasuolo-di-vittoria, valle-acate-il-frappato, valle-acate-tane
Gulfi owns Nero d'Avola parcels in the Pachino area, including pre-phylloxera crus at Maccaraj, Bufaleffj, Baronj and Sanlorenzo. The estate produces four single-vineyard Nero d'Avola bottlings from these contrade.
Tasting: Visits and tastings at the Noto estate. Contact [email protected].
Signature wines: gulfi-nerojbleo, gulfi-nerobuffaleffj, gulfi-nerobaronj
Fabio Sireci's Feudo Montoni sits in the hills of central Sicily at Cammarata, farming pre-phylloxera Nero d'Avola vines. The Vrucara single-vineyard bottling comes from ungrafted vines on the estate.
Tasting: Visits by appointment at the Cammarata estate in central Sicily. Contact [email protected].
Signature wines: feudo-montoni-vrucara, feudo-montoni-lagnusa, feudo-montoni-grillo-della-timpa
Founded by Salvatore Di Gaetano in 1978, Firriato farms approximately 490 hectares across seven estates spanning the Trapani hills, Etna and the island of Favignana.
Tasting: Guided cellar tours, vineyard visits and tastings at the Baglio Soria resort in Paceco and at Cavanera Etnea on Etna. By appointment.
Signature wines: firriato-camelot, firriato-ribeca, firriato-chiaramonte-nero-davola
