Vino di Anna ‘Bianco G’

Vino di Anna ‘Bianco G’ is an Etna white that wears its complexity lightly. Ripe stone fruit, lemon peel and lime zest rise from the glass. It’s hard not to glug.

Bright acidity cuts across the palate, balanced by savoury smokiness. Volcanic minerality and a salty, mouth-watering finish carrying flavour a long way. Straw and pepper linger, then clear the palate, sending you back for more.

Vino di Anna ‘Bianco G’ is a Grecanico-led blend. The team at Vino di Anna harvests by hand, then leaves most of the grapes on their skins for a week. They press the rest as whole bunches, and that portion goes through malolactic fermentation. Everything then ages on fine lees for 12 months.

Anna Martens trained as an oenologist in Adelaide and expected to make Super-Tuscans. Then she met Eric Narioo, a leading figure in natural wine. Eric runs the importer Les Caves de Pyrene and has opened myriad natural wine bars across London.

Together they toured southern France and learned from its natural winemakers. They were hooked. They wanted a region that would test them, so they settled on the little-known terraces of Mt. Etna.

Their small family estate sits high on the slopes near Solicchiata. The vines grow in black decomposed lava and iron-rich red clay, and both soils shape the wine’s character.

Serve it chilled, at around 10 to 12°C. It suits grilled fish, fried calamari or fresh ricotta, and it makes an easy first step into skin-contact whites.