It is an elixir that seems to arise from the very breath of the volcano—the new Etna Chinato by Federico Graziani, the most intimate and visionary creation of the Etna-based producer—once a sommelier in the kitchens of Aimo e Nadia, Cracco, and Marchesi—and his friend Irene Foti, a hotelier from Bronte with the sensitivity of a pharmacy degree and an innate talent for scents and botanicals. The idea: to transform a great Etna Rosso 2019 into an unprecedented expression of its territory, a living matter born of herbs, fruits, and memories of the Mountain.
Etna Chinato Federico Graziani: An Absolute First
At its core is the Etna Rosso 2019 from Montelaguardia, enriched with herbs and fruits harvested from the same estate: fig, olive, and bay leaves, citrus fruits, prickly pear flowers, Pantelleria capers—all in dialogue with extracts of calisaya and succirubra cinchona, restoring the deep soul of the volcanic Mediterranean.
“It’s Etna Chinato, so we wanted the Mountain to speak,” says Federico Graziani. Yet the herbs and fruits gathered on the estate had to travel: “In Sicily, no one holds a license for aromatized wines. So we went up to Andrea Maschio at the Bonaventura Maschio distillery, whose expertise helped us find the balance between my vineyard and cellar experience and Irene’s empirical knowledge.”
The result is precious in its rarity: 2,000 bottles of 0.5 liters and 100 bottles of 3 liters, the latter numbered and dressed as unique works of art, each hand-painted by artist Fabrizio Foti, like ampoules from an ancient Sicilian pharmacy.
In the glass, Etna Chinato is a sensory journey: transparent ruby, aromas of red fruit and orange, aromatic herbs, cinchona, and olive leaves. The sip is warm, enveloping, with a bitter echo recalling olive leaves and a persistence that refuses to fade—like lava stone. “It represents Sicily well,” says Graziani, “because you can taste caper, fig leaf, citrus.”
Eclectic, magnetic: its use is twofold. “The poolside version,” continues the Etna producer with a smile, “is with ice, soda, and orange peel. Professionals can also use it to create a surprising and original signature cocktail—perhaps a twist on a Negroni or an Americano. But the idea is also to serve it neat, at the end of a meal, with aged cheeses or chocolate.”
An absolute novelty, this new entry inspired by Barolo Chinato, with Graziani joking: “If I could have afforded vineyards there, maybe I wouldn’t be in Sicily today. But then Etna bewitched me.”
The first Etna Chinato in history, with the Consortium’s approval for the use of the name, is destined for haute cuisine. A volcanic elixir that speaks the unmistakable language of Sicily, bringing the Mountain’s inimitable character to the world.
