Marco de Grazia: Pioneering modern winemaking techniques on Mt. Etna

I am in the process of writing a series on the Mt Etna wine pioneers and have, to date, covered the late Giuseppe Benanti (Benanti Viticoltori), Salvo Foti (I Vigneri Salvo Foti & Figli). the late Andrea Franchetti of Vini Franchetti, and Frank Cornelissen of Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen. I continue herein with Marco de Grazia of Tenute Delle Terre Nere.

Tenuta Delle Terre Nere (DTN) is located in the township of Randazzo on the north flank of the mountain and owns 45 ha of vineyards distributed between 30 parcels in nine crus, seven of which are in the north and one each in the east and south. But DTN did not start out that way.

The estate is owned by Marco de Grazia, he of Barolo Boys fame. Marco came to the world's attention as the leader of a band of young winemakers who had upended the traditional world of Barolo. Prior to his intervention, Barolo wines were subjected to lengthy maceration in large wooden vessels and required significant aging to become approachable. Marco encouraged a group of young winemakers to adopt the French style of shorter maceration periods and aging in barriques in order to make the wines approachable earlier.

This approach -- dubbed the "modern style" -- was anathema to the traditionalists in Barolo and many a relationship was fractured as a result. Marco was undeterred by the waves and took these winemakers on tours of their markets, a practice not heretofore common to the region. These marketing tours served to forge links between the winemakers and their customers and led to significant market growth for this new style of Barolo and to de Grazia becoming one of the most influential importers of Italian wines in the US market.

Prior to his entry into the wine industry, Marco was in academia, studying Philosophy in the US. A career shift in the 1980s saw him returning to Italy to work with "small, quality-focused wine producers." He founded Marco de Grazia Selections shortly thereafter with the goal of introducing fine Italian wines to the US market.

Marco came to Sicily in 1998 or 1999, he says, summoned by a producer who wanted to place his wines on the de Grazia Selections list. He drove around the island tasting wines and came to the conclusion that the region had high potential at attractive prices. This potential spurred him into buying a small vineyard and then to seek out someone who could work said vineyard and a winery that would make his wine.

According to Brandon Tokash, my good friend, and the repository of Mt Etna institutional knowledge, "Marco started bottling under his own label of Terre Nere with the 2002 vintage, a small production vinified and bottled at Benanti. 2003 was a bigger bottling though still at Benanti. 2004 was the first vintage actually bottled at Marco's estate."

Marco, in his discussion with grape-collective.com, bears out this narrative. When he arrived, he said, there were only four to six people making wine and there were many abandoned vineyards. The wine being made was produced by some of the old folks who had kept their small vineyards going.

In his effort, he focused on revitalizing old, abandoned vineyards and cultivating indigenous red grapes in a manner that was respectful of traditional Etna viticulture. To this he added his true expertise: his knowledge of modern winemaking techniques. It was de Grazia’s work that brought the first glimmerings of the spotlight on Mt Etna wine.

Marco substantiates Brandon’s recollection as to timing but adds more detail as to the early wines produced. The first wine produced in 2002 was a Guardiola, a single-vineyard wine. In 2003 separate wines were made from Guardiola and Calderara fruit. Feudo di Mezzo wine was added in 2004.

Marco’s early wines were impounded by the Anti-Fraud authorities because you could not bottle a wine with the name of the vineyard on the label. He would be fined, would pay the fine, and then the wine would be released. According to Marco, this happened through the 2004 vintage until he was able to convince folks in 2005 that it would be beneficial to put the vineyard name on the label. This approach was ratified by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2011.

According to Nesto and di Savino (The World of Sicilian Wine), de Grazia had a number of advantages coming out of the gate:

1. He had strong ties to the international wine trade
2. His significant experience working with some of the most talented winemakers in Italy
3. A new facility with enough room to house his production as well as to vinify the wines of small producers who had grapes but no crush capability.

In discussing the de Grazia wines in a 2008 article (Etna — the burgundy of the Mediterranean?), Jancis Robinson stated thusly:

They are pretty potent. Even his basic Etna Rosso, a wonderfully characterful fruity mouthful … is upwards of 14% alcohol and his special contrada bottlings are sometimes nearly 16%. But they have great freshness and balance, as though those lava deposits are reigning in mere methyl alcohol. And then one he has made for the first time in 2006 from a special parcel of pre-phylloxera vines by his Etna winery is truly phenomenal.

Contrade as territorial designations have gone the way of the dodo bird but not so its relevance for wine. According to Nesto and di Savino, of the cadre of new winemakers to breach the Etna walls in the early 2000s, Marco de Grazia was the first to "promote the connection between Burgundy Crus and Etna contrade and between contrade and lava flows." Further, say the authors, "Certain Etna producers support contrada labeling because it connects Etna to the concept of terroir and, from a marketing standpoint, models Etna on Burgundy, the wine zone with which the concept of terroir is most associated."

I visited DTN during my first trip to Etna and had the pleasure of being taken on a tour of the facilities by Marco and participating in a tank-tasting with him and a bottle-tasting with his winemaker.

Lidia Rizzo, author, Brandon Tokash, and Marco de Grazia

Marco shared with me his vision of the Etna DOC as a region on par with the Côte de Nuit region of Burgundy, with cru areas resulting from differences in soil types, altitude, exposure, and micro-climate. He has been an untiring proponent of cru-labeled wines and follows that principle with the grapes for his wines.

The estate is farmed organically and focuses on vineyard management and will purchase grapes from growers who adhere to those principles. 

The wines produced by the estate currently are shown below.

Grapes for the wines are hand-harvested, sorted, and fermented with native yeasts. They are macerated for 10 - 15 days prior to malolactic fermentation. The wines are aged in wood for approximately 18 months.

In addition to the base Etna Bianco, the estate produces a number of single-vineyard white wines which are 100% Carricante. Marco explains: "I decided to produce it (100% Carricante, ed.) in 2007 after having been lucky enough to taste a 42-year-old Carricante on two separate occasions. This wine turned out to be so beautiful, so impeccable and vigorous despite its Friday age, that I was moved to try to produce something similar. ... The Vigne Niche Selection is the result."

The two white crus from the northern area are made from Carricante grapes from old and young vineyards because it is difficult to source white grapes in a red grape area. The Vigne Niche wines are fermented and aged in 10 hL barrels.

As for the non-north Carricante vineyards, the Milo property was bought in 2019, the same year as was the first vintage from Montalto.

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There is no doubt that winemaking on Etna gained greater visibility earlier due to the presence of Marco in its winemaking ranks. But Marco was not just a celebrity. He put in the hard work to understand the region, to make the connection between its architecture and Burgundy, and to drag his compatriots into the arena kicking and screaming. The upsurge of contrada bottlings today owes much to the early work done by Marco.

Marco's efforts on North-face whites are constrained by his own admission that it is difficult to source white grapes in a predominantly red-grape area but also by the flow of white-wine investment dollars into Milo and, to a lesser extent, the south.

In any case, Delle Terre Nere was there from the beginning of the "foreign wave" and continues to be a driving force along the way.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Brian’s 50th Birthday Celebration: Burgundy Day 1

Our first full day together on Brian’s 50th birthday trip included travel by van from Paris to Pommard (our home base for the remainder of the trip) and then either a walk to lunch in Volnay or a tasting at an as -yet-to-be-determined winery. Dinner was scheduled to be prepared and served at the house by the house Chef and staff.

We were warned about the importance of being on time so everyone showed up bright an early for the onboarding. Fred and I went looking for an early morning takeout coffee joint and, after some initial frustration, eventually found one. By the time we wended our way back to the hotel, the vans had arrived and been loaded up. Including my knapsack. I am uncomfortable if my phone and knapsack are not in contact with my body (great chance of leaving them behind) so I dug through the luggage, found my knapsack, and placed it where I intended to sit.

The seating worked out such that Brian and his relatives occupied one van and the “outsiders” the other. Now, if I had been traveling with my relatives, we would have formed a prayer circle, asked for traveling mercies, hugged, and then boarded. This group just jumped into the vans and left.

My first inkling that we might have a problem was when Fred began tapping the outside of his pants pocket as though he had lost something. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “My Apple Watch is showing that my Laptop is back at the hotel,” he said. Two things were wrong here: (i) If his laptop was missing, why was he tapping his pocket? and (ii) Why did he not secure his knapsack (like I did) when we returned from the coffee run? 

We had traveled a bit but we were still within the Paris city limits. We would, obviously, have to return to the hotel to retrieve his laptop but who was going to call Brian in the next van and tell him that? Who was going to let him know that his carefully crafted, immaculate schedule was about to be violated by a doctor? The doctor, that’s who.  We pulled over and stopped. And the second van did the same. Fred went out to tell his story (I did not accompany him — I did not want to see the blood on the floor). Turned out they decided to look in the back of that van and Fred’s backpack was laying there, not a care in the world. It seems that with the laptop not proximate to the watch, the watch was registering the last place the two had synced up. 

We resumed our travel — and, by the way, kudos to the team of drivers who took us around during the entirety of our stay. They were warm, helpful, considerate, and always ready with a helpful recommendation.

We made very good time, arriving at our destination a little before lunch. We were staying at La Maison de Pommard and were welcomed effusively by Anda.

After we had been shown around, and made the appropriate noises, including expressing our satisfaction, nay, amazement, at the space, folks started asking “what’s next.” Brian had been having whispered discussions with Anda and informed us that timing (now post-lunch), day of the week (Sunday), and weather (raining) rendered external lunch sources non-existent and tasting opportunities negligible.

The house came with a fully stocked wine fridge and a backup cellar in the basement so we decided to call in Pizza and call it a day. Turned out to be a great decision. 

Fred, Laurie, and I had left Tatttinger with three gift bottles but there were not at drinking temperature. I plunked mine into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of Dhondt-Greeley Premier Cru Champagne from the house stash. I had never had this champagne but the host recommended it highly. She was correct. It was absolutely fantastic. And so began an absolutely awesome day, an indicator of what a fine time we would have together creating Brian’s 50th.

The tables in the lunch room were spread out; and that is how we deployed initially. But as the juice flowed, and the food arrived, we wanted to operate more as a single unit; so we  strung the tables together. I didn’t have great Pizza on my bingo card for Burgundy but that number played. And the conversation; insightful and enlightening. I personally had some phenomenal discourse with David and Jen, the people I knew least coming on to this trip. I really like them.

The other guys could only take so much of this stuff so they snuck off; and took their significant others with them. The first indication that I had that they were not in the house was when I received a text from Fred saying that they were tasting at a winery around the corner and I should come join them. I texted him back asking exactly where they were. Crickets. I went out, looked right, looked left, and then came back in. I was not going to desert my soul mates for this crew who flew the nest silently. 

They eventually returned with a number of sad stories. There was not much happening around. They fell in on this winery that turned out to be ungrateful.. The people were bad because Matt dropped one of the bottles they bought and it broke and the woman would not replace it. Of course the winery’s responsibility ceased the minute they left the premises. Entitled tourists. They came home grumbling; but they brought additional wines for the cause. Sweet.

This was a lively afternoon filled with great wine, conversation, food, music, laughter, and camaraderie. Lovely. Then we had to go prepare for dinner. 

I don’t know how come we didn’t all fall asleep and miss dinner. When i arrived, one of the last, if I remember correctly, Brian, Matt, and Fred had matching tee shirts which informed of the fact that this was all of their birtday parties, with their births being 10 years removed. 

We settled in for dinner and it was fabulous. The first course was a fish and i had not seen fish presented in this manner before. It looked more like a dumpling than fish. I thought i would have a piece to be courteous but it was stunning: light, airy, full of flavor emanating both from the fish and the accompanying sauce. 

The second course was a chicken which demoted Colonel Sanders to a private. This was followed by a cheese plate and dessert. The wines shown were the wines consumed

over the course of the day.

Wonderful evening capping a wonderful day, I thought, as i dragged myself up the stairs. Brian was in great spirits. Everything fell in place perfectly. His guests were happy. His wife was happy. His kid was happy. And tomorrow was still to come.

Note — a number of the pictures included herein are sourced from Brian.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Brian Herbst’s 50th birthday celebration: The Paris component

I first heard Brian talking about spending his 50th birthday in Burgundy two years ago while we were in Miami celebrating his 48th. I promised to accompany him but it was so far in the future that I consigned it to a distant place in my “things-i-am-thinking-about” folder. Not so Brian. He mentioned it consistently at our tasting group get-togethers and launched a full frontal attack on the problem beginning late last year.

Burgundy has historically been a tough place to visit for the uninitiated or unconnected. It does not really have a mass wine tourism infrastructure or mentality and the producers would actually prefer not to be bothered. Visitors to the region are mostly wine professionals, writers, and affluent/influential burgundy consumers with long-standing relationships and track records. And visiting groups are generally limited in size.

Brian was bucking that model in that he intended to bring a sizeable group of his friends into the region for four or so days for the purpose of visiting wineries and eating in area restaurants. And he had no cards.

The first favorable thing to happen to him along the way was that the group self-selected down to 11 people, making it easier to handle and, maybe, increasing the likelihood of securing winery visits.

His initial plan was to spend a few days in Paris and then head out to Burgundy for four days. Beginning with these objectives, Brian, ably assisted by his wife Erin, crafted a focused and, ultimately, highly successful program which was enjoyable and satisfying for all involved. And no winemakers were hurt during the process.

Erin, Hudson, and Brian

Brian began with a list of all the important producers in Côte d’Or and contacted each by email to determine if they took visits from the public and, if they did, would they take a group of our size at a time of our choosing. His aim was to do two meaningful tours and tastings per day with solid lunches and dinners at known locales to follow. Over the course of many months he secured appointments with quality producers in both Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuit, thus ensuring that participants would get a balanced view of the region and its wines.

In addition, Brian and Erin made accommodation arrangements for the group in both Paris and Burgundy, set up activities for the group in Paris, arranged transportation between and Paris and Burgundy as well as within Burgundy. The full travel group was: the aforementioned Brian and Erin, along with their son Hudson; Jackie (Brian’s Mom); David and Jen (Brian’s brother and his significant other); Fred and Laurie; Matt and Caryn; and the author.

                                                Jackie

Jackie, David, Jen, and Laurie

Fred, Laurie, Matt, and Caryn

Attendees arrived into Paris at varying times. The only scheduled group activities were a Friday lunch at Willi’s Wine bar, to be followed by a private boat cruise on the Seine. Most people had activities preceding but those will not be covered as they were not considered a part of the “official” birthday celebration. 

There was some slight confusion as to whether the lunch at Willi’s was scheduled for noon or 12:30. I was already out at an exhibition so I made it to the establishment by noon. The remaining members filtered in between 12:00 and 12:30 at which time we were shepherded into a private room. 

It did not take long for the volume in the room to begin heading north as an effusive wine-consumption benchmark was quickly established. We had a wonderful meal and enjoyable wines but, more importantly for people who were going to be spending a week together, no one sucked.

At the conclusion. of the lunch we walked over to the River Seine to link up with our boat. I was excited. I had ridden Bateaux-Mouche-type boats on the Seine on many occasions but had not gone the private boat route previously. Erin and Brian had rented a boat and captain exclusively for our party. 

Once the boat dock was vacated our boat made its way onside and we boarded. 

The day had warmed up considerably and was perfect for a river cruise. The river banks were peppered with people walking, sitting, standing, and even dancing, welcoming, as they were, the sun with open arms and hearts. 

Champagne and conversation flowed freely as the equally young Captain and First Mate maneuvered the boat down the river and the wines down our throats. 

A beautiful way to see the sights of Paris but, like all good things the ride came to an end. We disembarked and headed back to our individual habitats. Somewhere on the way back i discovered that i had left my scarf and jacket on the boat. It has not surfaced as yet.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme