A story as old as time, wine professional displaced by Covid lockdowns, follows her heart to the village she was born and brings together the village to create beautiful wines! Okay, maybe not your classic fairytale, but the story of Gustinella and Sonia Gambino has just begun!

When I first learned of Gustinella I was intrigued. This is the first vintage of a young female winemaker, from a village I've never heard of at the base of Mount Etna. Importer, Bryan Garcia, has a very selective palate so I knew these would be special.

These wines are not your typical Etna Rosso and Bianco made from primarily Nerello Mascalesse and Carricante. The wines are made from mostly indigenous old vine verietals some of which are not yet identified.

The Rosso is made from mostly Grenache with a touch of Nerello Mascalese and Tinto Nero. The grapes are hand harvested, crushed and destemmed in steel vats where they macerate on the skins for 25 days. The wine is aged twelve months in a mix of steel, cement, and demijohns. The result is a truly textural experience of Grenache. The dark, powerful, Sicilian fruit in combination with volcanic minerality makes for a perfect combination.

The Bianco is made from old vine Grecanico Dorato a specific biotype of Grecanico indigenous to Mount Etna. The grapes are gently crushed-destemmed and then left to macerate on the skins for a couple of days. Fermentation is spontaneous and takes place in stainless steel vats.

Vino di Confine is a single vineyard co-ferment of red and white grapes, Nirellu, Granazzu, Minnella, and this "nu sacciu" ( Sicilian for I do not know) make up the blend. This wine is high toned with bright fresh fruit and a ton of minerality, an absolute joy to drink.

Lastly, the Rosato comes from a single vineyard parcel at 1300 meters above sea level, completely surrounded by woods. Made from 10 indigenous verietals directly pressed and spontaneously fermented in stainless steel vats. The refinement in steel is marked by bâtonnage in order to offer softness and balance to the high acidity from altitude, which also allows this wine, like all Maletto wines, a high aging capacity.

Sonia had worked most of her 20's in wineries from New Zealand to France to Chile. She followed this cellar work with a 2 year stint at a wine press agency allowing her the opportunity to travel around Italy meeting the incredible minds behind large companies and wineries, but the call of the land was ultimately too strong.

In January of 2020, Sonia returned to Sicily to help Nino Barraco make wines in Marsala. This was an incredibly stimulating experience where she met and interacted with natural winemakers and writers on a daily basis. The Covid lockdowns came at a time of extreme growth for Sonia. She didn't want to put her progress on pause but her current situation in Marsala would not allow her the opportunity to continue working in the cellar.

On May 2nd, the first day of phase 2 in Sicily, Sonia traveled 3 hours to Maletto, her birth place. She moved into her grandfather's old house located on the edge of town next to the Littorina (Fiat self-propelled railcars of the Mussolini era).

While planting a zucchini garden just outside of her house, Sonia met a man named Vincenzo. Vincenzo took his daily walks on the tracks and started to assist Sonia with her garden. One day he told Sonia about his little vineyard where he produced a "special" wine. Vincenzo was elderly and had already destroyed two cars, his children would not let him drive. Sonia offered to accompany him. That's when it all started to come together.

Entering Vincenzo's vineyard, Sonia found a familiar, wild, messy landscape of co-planted varietals Nirellu, Granazzu, Minnella, and this "nu sacciu" ( Sicilian for I do not know). In the coming days, she would discover a concrete barrel and a wine press her grandfather once used for his millstone. It was this moment that Sonia decided she will make wine in Maletto!