IDDA Etna Rosso Sicilia DOP 2022

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

IDDA means ‘she’ in the Sicilian dialect, which is a term of endearment and awe which Sicilian’s refer to her, being Etna. Predominantly Nerello Mascalese with a touch of Nerello Cappuccio. This wine comes entirely from the Biancavilla vineyard which sits on the southern side of Mount Etna, south west facing slopes, between 700 and 800 meters above sea level. Vineyard as planted in 1975.

Fermented in a combination of steel and seasoned wood vessels. 25/30% whole-bunch. Pressed off to barrel. 80% of these barrels are 2000ltr & 4000ltr, French and Australian with a handful of 700ltr from the same origin. Aged separately for 9 months before then blending of the differing barrels. Bottling is done 3 months post blending.

About IDDA by Gaja

A partnership between Angelo Gaja and Alberto Graci which begun in 2016 on the east coast of Sicily. Etna is one of the most valued and in vogue regions for unique and terroir expressive wines. The Gaja and Graci families own 20 hectares of vineyards, between 600m and 800m above sea level, in the village of Belpasso and Biancavilla.

IDDA

IDDA means ‘she’ in the Sicilian dialect which is a term of endearment and awe which Sicilian’s refer to her, being Etna.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Angelo Gaja’s interest in the region of Mount Etna began when his friend Giacomo Tachis first introduced him to these wines in the late 1990’s. Giacomo Tachis is the oenologist who worked with Piero Antinori creating Sassicaia, Tignanello and Solaia. At that time Angelo had his hands full with the development of Pieve Santa Resistuta in Brunello and their Bolgheri winery Ca’Marcanda.

Fast forward to present times Angelo Gaja met Alberto Graci in 2015. Alberto Graci owns one of the most respected wineries on Mount Etna, situated on the North Eastern slopes of the mountain, in Passopisciaro. With the realisation of how well aligned the two families were both in terms of the values and approach to wine production they decided to form a joint venture, IDDA, at the end of 2016.

The first vintage of IDDA Rosso came in 2017, followed by the introduction of IDDA Bianco from 2018.

“I believe that old age starts when the regrets are more than the dreams and Etna was something that I have been feeling under the skin for some time. The project is just beginning and it will move forward according to the nature of the wine; however Etna, like Langhe, is a place where elegant, enigmatic and intriguing wines can be made. I also took into consideration the challenges of climate change; indeed, I find it important the fact that Etna has the highest vineyards in Europe and the harvest period is among the latest on the continent”

Angelo Gaja

“Angelo and I share the same interpretation of Etna, and we will work hard to realize that interpretation. We are looking for elegance and electricity. Very few places on earth can make wines with those qualities, and Etna is one of them. We approach this venture with humility because we recognize that Etna is stronger than everything, and everyone else. Etna will dictate the identity of the wine we make and we will follow. We will follow the volcano”

Alberto Graci

In the Vineyard

Biancavilla – 630 to 820 meters altitude – South West facing – 15 hectares planted

This site was planted prior to IDDA being created so was purchased by the families with existing vineyards. It lies within the Etna DOP. 10 hectares of Nerello and 1 hectare of Carricante, first planted in 1975. An additional 4 hectares of Carricante was planted in 2017.

The soil here is some of the oldest in the Etna DOP, some 60,000 years old. What does this mean? Due to the soils being from a very old lava flow it’s has had a very long oxidation/weathering/decomposition period so the soils are more ‘ground down’ so to speak, small pebbles, light brown soil, not as fertile and obviously volcanic as some of the more extreme soils of Etna.

Belpasso – 600 to 620 meters altitude – South facing – 12 hectares planted

They purchased this site with only 1 hectare of Carricante already planted. It’s also where the IDDA winery has been built with the first vintage been vinified there in 2023. Prior vintages had been made at the Graci family winery in the North.

The vineyard site is in fact a natural Clos, created by diverging and converging lava flows. It’s an island of fertile land surrounded by unfarmable black volcanic rock. Very high sand content here however due to the soils being a lot younger than Biancavilla, it’s more fertile and has a much higher concentration of larger porous volcanic rocks, more typical of the Etna terroir.

The new plantings (11 hectares) are all Carricante which have been planted between 2019 and 2023.

The site sits just south of the defined border of the Etna DOP, so wines produced from here are labelled Sicila DOP, hence why the IDDA white is labelled as such as the majority of production comes from this vineyard.

Tartaraci – 970 metres altitude – South + South West facing – 5 hectares (not currently planted)

This site is on the North West slopes of Mount Etna and is the highest in terms of altitude. Exposed to the wind and colder temperatures due to altitude, it’s an extreme site for Nerello but IDDA are particularly interested in it’s potential for Carricante.

The current site contains an abandoned vineyard which IDDA are currently evaluating (Feb 2024). They are finalising Massal selection of some of these vines (Nerello Mascalese, Grenache, Carricante, Grecanico & Minnella) and will begin bringing the vineyard back to production.

In the Winery

For the initial vintages, the wines were vinified at the Graci winery in the North. In 2023, the full production of IDDA was moved to the new winery built inside the Belpasso site.

With a dedicated winery now established, IDDA has it’s own exclusive winemaking and viticultural team. Gaia,Giovanni, Rossana Gaja and Alberto Graci are present throughout the year discussing with them team each vineyard and winery operation. Angelo Gaja and Alberto Graci still oversee all aspects of the winery as a true partnership.

Where in the World is IDDA?

IDDA is located in Belpasso on the southern slopes of Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy.