Passione of the Week – Volcanic Terroir

Terroir is a word that gets thrown around quite a bit in the world of low intervention wine. There is an increasing drive with winemakers to respect the land on which their vines take root and for this to be reflected in the wines that they create. Yet this fascination with the concept also means that its importance has been a little diluted. This might be partly because of the gap in translation: terroir in the English language brings to mind notions of territory and land, while in Romantic languages Terroir encompasses far more than that. Of course, terroir is fundamental to all wines’ characteristics yet we would put our hands up to say that there are certain instances where the terroir has a greater impact than others.

In case you haven’t guessed where this is headed by now, we are of course talking about wines made in proximity to the natural power force that is a volcano. Volcanoes: that power force that puts fear into mankind (or love in the case of the incredible Fire of Love that should be on your Watchlist). But when we talk about volcanic terroir we are not just referring to the soil that is essentially thrown from the centre of the earth, but also the variations in climate that these conditions create. To talk about volcanic terroir in Italian wine is a bit like awaiting an eruption of elements.

Our (and we mean Italians in general) obsession with Volcanoes is inextricable from Italy’s somewhat peculiar geography. Although being part of mainland Europe, the land mass particularly close to the joining to the Eurasian and the African Plate. Italy has the only active volcanoes in mainland Europe in three principal clusters: in Campania, in North Western Sicily and around the island of Pantelleria (beloved either for A Bigger Splash or Gabrio Bini, take your pick). There are of course the famous volcanoes – Etna, Vesuvius, Stromboli – but there are many others that have lain dormant for centuries if not millennia as well as other extinct volcanoes that contributed to Italy’s geography in the form of the Appenines that runs down the centre of Italy and were formed due to volcanic activity.

So if volcanoes have such an important role in Italy’s past, present and future, it is only natural that volcanic terroir has a particular relevance to wines produced across the country.

First things first. The soil. There is not one single type of volcanic soil. The type of volcanic eruption that took place has a direct impact on the quality and colour of the soil that surrounds volcanoes. In short, there are a multitude of factors that come to play on the qualities of the volcanic soil that vineyards are planted on. In Italy, the soil is often basaltic (ie: broken down basalt). Often ranging between dark red and black in colour, this is dictated by weathering that the lava flow has undergone. In turn, the dark hue means that the land retains the heat and the soil is high in minerals such as iron and magnesium.

Now before this morphs into a geology lecture, there are other factors that come to bear upon a volcanic terroir. Climate is of course one. Take Mount Etna. The elevation at which some vines are planted means that they are exposed to very different weather conditions than those planted at sea level. Generally gathered around the eastern flank and thus getting strong levels of sunlight throughout the day, the altitude equally means that the vines undergo greater temperature fluctuations at night or during the winter. Before you point out that this is the same for wines planted in mountainous areas such as the Alto Adige, what we have to emphasise that it is the cocktail of factors that come with planting on the side of a volcano not to mention the challenges that the terroir brings with it. In areas such as the Aeolian Islands and Etna, there is constantly the risk of an eruption that may devastate your vines and turn decades if not centuries of winemaking tradition into dust. .

Luca has naturally visited countless vineyards where the terroir is ‘volcanic’ in all its guises. Be that up the face of Etna where one vineyard had a particularly fertile chestnut tree planted in a volcanic crater amongst the vines. At the end of the day, a man and his wines facing an element as fierce as fire is resilience in the truest sense. All hats off to them.

Set on the southern slopes of Mount Etna, the wines produced by I Custodi are as much a social project as they are about working with the elements. Their primary aim as an association of winemakers is to show how important the diverse growing sites of Mount Etna. Another is to restore historic vineyards and to nurture ancient varieties that might otherwise go extinct. Their vineyards are generally at elevations between 650 and 1,200 metres and are planted on land that has been restored on ancient stone terraces.

Riesling is a grape traditionally associated with Germany and certainly less so with Italy. That is even more the case when we come to talk about volcanic terroir. Especially as the vineyards of Maso Bergamini are located in the province of Trento. What cannot be forgotten though is that the Alps were formed as the result of volcanic activity and therefore the fertility is the soil is thanks to long extinct volcanoes that have still left their mark on the soil. At Maso Bergamini, the fertility of the volcanic soil facilitates their natural, chemical free approach to winemaking. And this is particularly evident in their Riesling Renano. When planted on the volcanic soils of the terroir and at an altitude of 550 metres, the Riesling becomes less flinty than what might be expected of a German Riesling planted on flatter terrain. Instead, the mineral richness of the volcanic soil combined with the cool climate perfeft for Riesling creates a fragrant wine with stone fruit notes and a finish of a slight tartness. Evidence if ever needed that Riesling is no one trick pony.

Anything or anyone wanting to make a life in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius has their work cut out from them. Despite the fact that Vesuvius last erupted nearly 2,000 years ago, the threat looms large. And so, with Villa d’Ora, the decision to cultivate wines in the shadow of Vesuvius is a true story of resilience and heritage. Vincenzo Ambrosio back in 1997 made it his mission to stop the vines planted by his ancestors from falling into obscurity and to work with the fluctuations that the volcanic terroir created. Vines are generally planted at an altitude between 250 and 300 metres above sea level which provides a relatively stable climate for the typically scorching Campanian region. Though all of their wines are worthy of applause (Aglianico of course being particularly well suited to this region), one stands out: their white Lacryma Christi. Why? Because Villa d’Ora have made it their cultural and social mission to bring this wine back from the realms of the ‘unfashionable’ and to show how important it is to Vesuvian terroir. The indigenous (if relatively unkown) Coda di Volpe is blended with Falanghina to create a golden wine that has a subtle acidity that reflects the characteristics of the Volcanic Terroir. A term that we here use without hesitation.