Benanti, who will preview at Vinitaly 2025 the new Contrada Monte Serra Etna DOC Bianco label, a Carricante that tells the bright and elegant identity of the south-eastern side of Etna, closing the circle of a unique territorial project.
On the south-eastern side of Etna, in the territory of Viagrande, lies the Contrada Monte Serra: a historic area for the Benanti family and today the cradle of the new Contrada Monte Serra Etna DOC Bianco , previewed at Vinitaly 2025.
“ This wine marks the completion of a project born to tell, through Carricante, the three historical souls of this noble and shy vine: Etna Est, Etna Sud-Ovest and Etna Sud-Est – say Antonio and Salvino Benanti at the helm of the company owned by Brave Wine , the wine holding company founded by the entrepreneur Renzo Rosso – After the labels Contrada Rinazzo da Milo, and Contrada Cavaliere da Santa Maria di Licodia, Benanti adds a new piece with a wine that reflects all the delicacy and energy of the south-eastern side, ideally closing the circle of its own ‘map of Carricante ‘”.
At Monte Serra, the very origin of the Benanti project, Carricante finds a clear and contemporary voice. The soils, born from the crumbling of lava materials from a thousand-year-old eruption of the homonymous crater, are sandy, deep and rich in minerals, with little presence of skeleton and an exceptional drainage capacity. “ In Contrada Monte Serra, ” says Enzo Calì, the company’s winemaker, “ the yields are naturally low and the slopes of the land require great skill: expert hands, knowledge of the place and great daily attention are needed. The proximity to the Ionian Sea gives us constant ventilation and ideal brightness, factors that contribute to the health of the grapes and a slow and regular ripening of the fruit. The vineyard, young but already very promising, is trained as a high-density Etna sapling and comes from a careful clonal and rootstock selection. This approach encourages healthy competition between the plants and allows us to obtain high-quality grapes. The harvest, which takes place in the third ten days of September, is manual. The grapes are destemmed and pressed whole with a soft squeeze, as is our custom .” In the cellar, Benanti continues its path of loyalty to the terroir: fermentation takes place in steel at a controlled temperature, using a native yeast selected over the years within the company’s vineyards. The wine then matures for 12 months in a tank on the fine lees, with periodic bâtonnage, and is further refined for 6 months in the bottle.
Contrada Monte Serra Etna DOC Bianco presents itself with a bright straw yellow and green reflections. On the nose it expresses all the delicacy of Carricante: orange blossom, green apple, thyme, citrus peel. With evolution, hints of yellow apple, flint, hydrocarbon, light honeyed notes emerge. On the palate it is taut, savoury, deeply mineral, with a freshness that accompanies a long citrus persistence. Benanti has always had a deep passion for Carricante, an indigenous grape variety that has been able to interpret in an identity-driven, elegant and long-lived way. From the iconic Pietra Marina Etna Bianco Superiore – internationally recognised as one of Italy’s great whites – to the classic method sparkling wines Noblesse and Noblesse 48 months , Benanti has built a coherent, rigorous and innovative path dedicated to this variety. The new Contrada Monte Serra Etna DOC Bianco fits naturally into this story, adding a new nuance to the profile of the grape variety and the territory. With this new wine, Benanti not only completes his trilogy of Contrada whites, but reinforces a vision that has always guided his work: to tell the story of Etna in its entirety, in its complexity, in its authenticity. “Benanti, Etna in its entirety” is not just a statement, but a production philosophy that translates into elegance, authenticity and absolute respect for the land.
At Vinitaly 2025 , at the Benanti stand (Hall 2 Corridor A Stand 4) , the new Contrada Monte Serra Etna DOC Bianco will be revealed in preview: further testimony to the winery’s vision, which continues to tell the story of Etna in all its luminous complexity.