The Barone di Villagrande Winery, located in Milo (Catania - Sicily), has a history deeply rooted in the district of Villagrande, where ancestors lived and worked on these lands since the late 1600s.
In the early 1700s, the Bishop of Catania entrusted the Nicolosi Asmundo family with the task of transforming the rugged lands of Mount Etna from "a horrid and uncultivated place to a delightful garden." Arriving with a cart, they began cultivating the tough volcanic soil of the volcano.
In 1727, Emperor Charles VI of Austria, King of Naples, conferred the title of Baron of Villagrande upon Don Carmelo Nicolosi.
Thus, the winery establishes even firmer roots on the slopes of Mount Etna. The bond with the grapevine becomes inseparable, initiating the millennia-old tradition of vine cultivation on these lands, a tradition that continues to this day.
Generations pass, and from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, they transition to the newly unified Italy. In 1869, Paolo Nicolosi establishes the new wine-making and aging cellar, becoming the first to employ separate vinification for white and red grapes.
Until then, on Mount Etna and in much of Italy, grapes were vinified together, without distinctions of grape varieties and color. Paolo decides differently, wanting to create distinct wines to enhance the unique characteristics of each grape variety. What Paolo creates is the ancestor of the current Etna Bianco Superiore.
In 1968, when the D.O.C. Etna is recognized, the first Controlled Designation of Origin in Sicily, the regulations are drafted by Carlo Nicolosi Asmundo, a university professor of enology and food techniques at the University of Catania.
The winery has written an important chapter in the history of Mount Etna wine, and the story continues. Today, winemaker and production director Marco Nicolosi continues to keep the commitment to the territory alive, respecting and enhancing the heritage of the winery and the peculiarities of the wine-growing area.
The company's goal is to share the natural heritage of Mount Etna, transferring the love and devotion for this unique and special place.
Azienda Vinicola Barone di Villagrande
Address: Via del Bosco, 25, 95010
Phone: 095 708 2175
Site:
https://www.villagrande.it/Location inserted by
Luigi de Marchi