New York welcomed two of Etna’s most influential natural growers this past week. First, Frank Cornelissen was in town for Zev Rovine’s first portfolio tasting (congrats!) and walked a small group of us through each Palmento he vinifies. He’s clearly a man open to evolution—tuning into each site with precision like never before. (We talked about that this earlier this year.)

Second, on Monday I sat down with Vino di Anna’s Eric Narioo. The importer-turned-vigneron took me through his work and philosophy, and I was reminded just how scintillating his wines are—impossible to put down, imo.

I also came away with a much deeper understanding of what drives him: from his exclusive use of chestnut barrels for white wines, to three-year-old plantings guided by Jean-François Ganevat and Fabien Duperray (spoiler: we should all be excited about that). We dig into the work below.

In the end, I grabbed as much of the Vino di Anna wines as I could—all of which just landed—alongside Frank’s undeniably delicious Susucaru Rosato (and Bianco!). In short: many of the best natural wines being made on the island are now on Fulton. – Chris Leon

There’s a certain worldliness to producers who began on the import side of the wine world—those with a deep reverence for the great wines they once championed in their portfolios.

There are many examples of this, but none more defining than Eric Narioo, who founded Les Caves de Pyrène in 1988: the UK’s first importer dedicated to natural wines. He was instrumental in introducing a generation of now-iconic growers (Yvon Métras, Gramenon, Hervé Villemade, Jean-François Ganevat, and Catherine and Pierre Breton, to name just a few) to a wider audience. In short, he helped shape the natural wine movement.

That alone would have been enough of a legacy. But in 2005, Eric and his wife, Anna Martens—a trained oenologist—became captivated by Etna: its volcanic soils, abandoned terraces, and immense untapped potential. What began as a trip to visit potential producers for import became the catalyst for their move to Sicily and the birth of Vino di Anna.

It took five years, but in 2010 Eric and Anna purchased their first vineyards along with an old, derelict palmento, which now houses their winery and cellar. The initial acquisition was a parcel of old bush-trained Nerello Mascalese in Contrada Crasà. Since then, their holdings have grown to eight hectares of terraced land, divided into small vineyard plots—one of which was gifted to them by their equally influential neighbor, Salvo Foti.

We dive into the specific sites in the wines below, as each truly expresses its place, elevation, and—in one case—the unique varietals of the volcano. The same individuality applies to the vinification: each wine follows its own regimen, shaped by the duo’s intuitive understanding of their sites.

What’s clear after sitting with Eric is his commitment to gentleness. Among his contemporaries, he proudly noted that his wines are the freshest and most aromatic—and we agree.

Across the range, fermentations are native, sulfur use is minimal (“2 grams if malolactic occurs before alcohol,” or only at bottling), and cleanliness is paramount. The top wines simply aren’t bottled unless they’re a true reflection of their vineyard. Entry reds are made in the large palmento, foot trodden, whereas the very top reds are exclusively made in Amphora.

For the white wines, Eric spoke passionately about his love for chestnut barrels. Compared to oak, chestnut’s thinner staves bring a taut precision to the wines—adding a sense of tension to Etna’s naturally phenolic fruit.

2022 Vino di Anna 'Sfuso di Anna' Rosso, Sicily, Italy $27
This wine usually makes it into the local trattorias, and is sold exclusively in Italy. But a tiny bit came this way and now acts as an entry point for the reds. As the name suggests, it's an early drinking, crushable wine made from every corner of the cellar. Their party wine!

2023 Vino di Anna 'Palmento' Bianco, Sicily, Italy $32
Blended from all the sites, mainly their highest elevation for freshness; interestingly, 20% is Inzolia, organically grown on limestone-clay soils in Vittoria. Half of the wine sees skin contact for a week giving the wine a phenolic, golden character.

2024 Vino di Anna 'Palmento' Rosso, Sicily, Italy $33
Perhaps their best-known wine, and maybe the most serious vintage we’ve tasted to date. It's foot tread in their palmento (as the photo suggests on the label), from almost all Nerello that finishes fermentation in a mix of qvevri, large oak casks (20hl), chestnut barrels (11hl) and stainless steel.

2024 Vino di Anna 'Jeudi 15' Rosato, Sicily, Italy $39
Not made each vintage: “we typically blend this into Vino di Anna [Palmento], unless it's exceptional.” Case in point, this hasn't been bottled in two years. This cépage is 90% Nerello Mascalese, but 10% Grecanico here plays a part with skin contact. A serious, pure-fruited wine that's meant for the table.

2024 Vino di Anna 'Jeudi 15' Bianco, Sicily, Italy $42
For many years, this was the only white they made, blending their top two single vineyards.

2022 Vino di Anna 'Nave' Bianco, Sicily, Italy $55
Their highest elevation vineyard is home to their most interesting white wine. Only 0.4 ha, the vineyard was planted as an experiment by Salvo Foti to Carricante, Riesling and Chenin Blanc. The energy of these varietals here is matched by phenolics and volcanic character of Etna NW side (near Maletto). Direct pressed into chestnut barrel and on the lees for 18 months. A powerful, high wire wine.

2022 Vino di Anna 'Q1000 Tartaraci' Rosso, Sicily, Italy $60
It's been almost ten years since this wine was released; they're serious about not bottling single vineyards unless they believe it has something unique to say. In 2022, we’re so glad they did. This comes from an extreme, high-altitude contrada (1000m) of Nerello Mascalese and Grenache; destemmed and left to fill a qvevri. The fruit stays there in a capo sommerso style, until the berries start to break down; in years past this has taken until Spring, but this most recent wine was racked off the fruit in December. It's a shockingly delicious wine that transports you to the blustery top of their vines: salty, powerful, simply a world class wine.

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