ETNA Cusumano presents Alta Mora ARRIGO

The new wine from the Alta Mora winery on Etna is called Arrigo, like the Contrada of the same name. The 2022 vintage has 3800 bottles, obtained from a parcel of 0.7 hectares.

“We are in Contrada Arrigo - explains Alta Mora winemaker Mario Ronco - at 610 meters above sea level, facing north-east: a glimpse that from the “Muntagna” opens towards the sea and its perpetual breeze.

A millenary soil rich in organic substance, composed of volcanic sands and lava stones dating back to a lava flow in 1180, which man has cultivated with vines since the dawn of time.

High temperature variations between day and night favor a slow ripening that allows to preserve freshness and flavor. Here the harvest is often at the end of October.

The peculiarity of this terroir is that in spring it retains water, generating generous vigour in the vine; then, as the summer season progresses, with the decrease in water availability, the vine concentrates exclusively on the ripening of the grape, abandoning any desire for expansion.

This is why we say that Arrigo is a “wise terroir” that gives itself to the vine only at the moment of maximum usefulness and then becomes moderate”.

“The beauty of Contrada Arrigo, and in general, of the districts of Etna, is “illegal” - says Diego Cusumano -. Here you do not play on equal terms with other territories in Italy and in the world. The natural advantage is clear: you widen your gaze and simultaneously see a snow-capped volcano erupting and the sea of Taormina. Even Arrigo, the latest addition to Alta Mora, confirms this unique figure, made up of contrasts, of tiny and powerful districts that express centuries of sedimentation. Each wine is born in a specific place because that is where we know it will give its best. So each of our wines today can show a recognizable and precise character. Just like a person. However, there is one element that all our wines have in common: time. We dedicate five thousand hours of work to each label. Five thousand are the hours needed to follow the vineyard with attention. It is the time needed to take care of the vineyard while the grapes ripen, to select the bunches and harvest them so as to bring them intact to cellar. And once you get there, follow the vinification and maturation. It is a slow and at the same time unstoppable time”.

ALTAMORA - ETNA

The largest volcano in Europe, a symbol of an exciting nature and of an ancient and stubborn viticulture, is the place that the brothers Diego and Alberto Cusumano have chosen with their father Francesco for their new and exciting challenge: to create wines that can express the quality and character of a unique territory. After years of research on the territory, in 2013 the unrepeatable opportunity to acquire the first three districts on the northern side of Etna arose. A project in continuous evolution, started with the reconstruction of the traditional dry stone walls of the terraces of Guardiola, a district that for its astonishing beauty embodies the motivation and inspiration that gave the name to the entire project: ALTA MORA.