On a crowded volcano, Ayunta's Filippo Mangione stands apart in Etna for his wildly old vines, impressive contrada holdings and, most uniquely: multiple expressions of Nerello Mascalese.

It's a spread that includes world class rosso, a sparkling rosato, and a still blanc de noir. All intensely flavored, volcanic wines worth hunting down.

Filippo Mangione's dream of making wine in his Sicilian homeland came true in 2011. After years of work in the wine industry, he was able to acquire an abandoned parcel in one of Etna most prized vineyards ‘Calderara Sottana’. Over the last decade he’s slowly grown his holdings (now at 2.8 hectares), which are almost exclusively old vines and planted to the volcano’s most famous varietal Nerello Mascalese.

He’s obsessed with showing how Nerello Mascalese is a messenger for terroir.

...making not just three impressive reds but applying several different techniques to produce completely unique wines. Even the one Etna Bianco he makes from Carricante is unlike what you’d expect from the area.

Filippo's old vines in the shadow of Mt. Etna 📷 via @ayuntawines

All made with native fermentations and, for the top reds, raised in local chestnut. All of the top wines see an impressive amount of élevage before release.

The lineup is a passionate, patient expression of one of Italy’s most exciting regions.

Why "Ayunta?"

Per Filippo: "Ayunta in Sicilian slang...it’s used to say like 'a little more' or 'little by little'…my granny used to say to me to push drinking more milk in the morning when I was a baby, and I had it in my mind like a kind of 'mantra' when the project of Ayunta seemed to be too challenging to become real…and little by little it happened! And this is why it became the name of the winery!”

The one Etna Bianco:

2021 Ayunta 'Piante / Sparse' Etna Bianco, Sicily, Italy $33
Piante Sparse literally translates to "stray vines" as Filippo doesn't have any plots dedicated to white varietals, only scattered white vines in his red vineyards. So he's done the arduous work of mapping the tiny-amounts of Carricante, Catarratto and Minnella growing, and harvesting them separately to make his only Etna Bianco (and, only in vintages where the grapes can ripen evenly enough at the same time). In the cellar, half of the fruit is macerated on the skins for a week, while the rest is directly pressed; then raised for 18 months in cement before bottling. The result is a luminous, phenolic Etna Bianco with salty, mediterranean flavors.

Filippo's many Nerello Bottlings:

2023 Ayunta Nerello Mascalese Bianco, Etna, Italy $24
One of the very few renditions of a white Nerello Mascalese, picked from some of the highest vineyards between Randazzo and Passopiscoaro to retain freshness. The fruit is softly pressed into tank where it both ferments and ages on its lees.

2022 Ayunta Nerello Mascalese Rosato Metodo Ancestrale, Terre Siciliane $29
This iridescently ruby sparkling is a stunner. Like the Bianco, it's picked early in some of the coldest sites, for freshness. Filippo lets the fruit go through a long, slow pressing to get this incredible color (and subsequent texture). The fermentation starts in inox tank before finishing in bottle, using the Metodo Ancestrale method.

2023 Ayunta Nerello Mascalese Rosso, Etna, Italy $24
The juiciest and most easygoing of the reds, the Nerello Rosso is made semi-carbonically in cement. Bottled early for freshness, this wine is on the lip-smacking, red-fruited side of Nerello.

2020 Ayunta 'Navigabile' Etna Rosso, Etna, Italy $33
This Etna Rosso is a blend of mainly Nerello Mascalese with touches Nerello Cappuccio, Alicante, Grenache, Minella Nera, and Francisa. All from the two best vineyards, Contradas Calderara and Feudo. Fermentation is in open top wood fermenters, and raised for over two years in chestnut. A brooding, serious Etna Rosso.

2019 Ayunta 'Calderara Sottana' Etna Rosso, Sicily, Italy $50
The top red from his top site, the soil here is stony and composed of lightweight volcanic pumice, which retains heat at extreme elevation. The fruit sees 21 days on the skins before being moved to chestnut for a wild 46 months. A world class red.

SHOP AYUNTA