Manuela Seminara grew up on Mount Etna but went abroad to study. After living in Brussels, she returned to Milan to work in engineering. Her husband, Fabio Gualandris, is an astrophysicist and an innovator, who also has a passion for botany and nature. Together they decided they wanted to have a balance between a life in technology and one in nature, so they returned to the estate where Manuela grew up and united the family’s many properties under one estate. They built a state-of-the-art cellar so they could make the best wines from the family’s very old vines.

The heart of the project is their property and home in the Ricciari Ciappari district of San Giovanni Montebello in Giarre on the East side of Mount Etna. The vines were planted by Manuela’s great-grandfather, Don Lorenzo, and his wife Mara. Don Lorenzo sold his grapes to the French market, which was plagued by phylloxera at the time. Then Don Lorenzo’s son, Don Angelo, helped diversify their market. Don Angelo still looks after the property, which is a veritable garden of Eden with every fruit tree one would wish for – many species of citrus fruits, olives, figs and prickly pears, strawberry trees, chestnuts, pomegranates, and quinces.  

Today, the property covers approximately 25 hectares, of which 7.5 are planted with Nerello Mascalese and Carricante. Everything is farmed organically.

Their location on the eastern slope, which has higher rainfall and direct exposure to the Ionian Sea, yield wines with great freshness and acidity. The soils here are composed of lava mixed with sand and clay and are very rich in iron oxide, which gives the wine their elegance.

They also have one vineyard on the northern slope, outside the Etna DOC, with lava soils with basalt rocks that yields a wine with more structure and tannin.

The love and passion this family has for their vineyards, their land, and their history is palpable in everything they do. I am very excited to introduce these wines to the US market.

Etna Bianco
100% Carricante from Il Tenace vineyard, located at 800 meters above sea level in the Chiusitti district of Mascali. After being hand harvested, the wine is gently pressed and goes through a three-week fermentation. The wine is then aged on fine lees in stainless before being released.

Sicilia Rosso
100% Nerello Mascalese from Il Temerario vineyard in the Ricciari Ciappari district of San Giovanni Montebello in Giarre. The vineyard is is 2.5 hectares at 450m above sea level, with their oldest, bush-trained vines. The vineyard is tended with great care and love by Don Angelo, Manuela’s grandfather. After being hand harvested, two-thirds of the grapes are destemmed, and the other one-third are pressed as whole clusters. The wine is racked before fermentation, all of which is done in stainless steel.

Etna Rosso
100% Nerello Mascalese from 100-year-old bush vines from Il Sublime vineyard. This is a 7-hectare vineyard, with 2 hectares planted to vines in the municipality of Piedimonte Etneo, at 600 meters above sea level in the Etna DOC zone. The traditional own-rooted bush vine training system makes this vineyard a true gem. After being hand harvested, the wines are de-stemmed and crushed with bi-weekly punch downs. After a slow fermentation, the wine is aged in stainless steel before bottling.