Tenuta di Aglaea

Aglaea reflects all my feelings for Etna. The wines are my messengers of this unique terroir, a consequence of Etna's numerous eruptions.

Viticulture in the cellar

The vineyards are located on the north slope at 800-1,000 meters above sea level. The black lava soil is rich in minerals and silicates. The Nerello Mascalese grapes are hand-harvested in mid-October. The vineyards cover 4 hectares divided across 6 excellent plots, all organically farmed. They produce 6 organic wines: 4 reds, 1 white, and 1 rosé. An elegant soul in every bottle.

The tiny, excellent Bocca d'Orzo, Chiusa Politi, and Montelaguardia vineyards in the Randazzo area, combined with Passo Cannon and Santo Spirito in the Passopisciaro area, and a small vineyard in Nave, form the 3.5-hectare production site for my wines.

How it all began

Aglaea – the youngest of the Three Graces or Charites, as the three sisters and daughters of the god Zeus were also known. Aglaea was the goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence, and adornment. She sometimes served as a messenger for Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

In respect of nature

I practice organic farming as a matter of principle and have done so since the beginning. In 2018, I applied to BioAgricert to obtain official organic recognition. I received the organic certification in January 2019. Numerous tests and inspections over the course of a year have only confirmed the organic practices that have been in place for a decade.

I believe that responsible grape growing should be the norm, respecting the environment in which we operate and our employees and consumers.

Additionally, we continue to improve our various processes to eliminate or reduce waste and recycle wherever possible. We use 100% natural, degradable twine to tie vines whenever possible. We're finding new ways to use leftover labels, and all our suppliers are ISO and/or organic certified. We only ship full pallets to our warehouse and purchase used pallets. Leftover non-Euro pallets are sent back to one of our suppliers so they can be reused instead of simply shredded and burned. Wherever we can make a difference, we do.