Graci was founded in 2005 in Passopisciaro, on the north slope of Etna. It's a family project rooted in Sicilian farming tradition. Everything they grow is an indigenous Etna variety. Nerello Mascalese and Carricante lead, with some Nerello Cappuccio and Catarratto, and some of the vines are on their own roots, ungrafted.
The vineyards are split into separate sites, and each one has its own story. In Contrada Arcurìa, at 600 to 700 metres, the vines sit on five different volcanic soil types. Sopra il Pozzo is a 1.5 hectare block of Nerello Mascalese in the same contrada, and a soil study was carried out there in 2004. Contrada Muganazzi was once the property of Ettore Majorana and is planted with Nerello Mascalese and Carricante.
The altitudes and ages vary a lot. Feudo di Mezzo is 1.5 hectares of 80-year-old vines and is the first to be picked. Barbabecchi is 2 hectares of bush-trained Nerello Mascalese at 1,000 metres in Solicchiata, and it's harvested in November.
Not tasted yet
I haven't reviewed a wine from Graci yet. They're on my Top 100 list, which is built from awards.