Last evening, while I was drinking an excellent Nerello Mascalese, some friends asked me: “What are crespelle”? This is the reason because I want to share here the authentic recipe of the crispelle, and the video of their preparation.

The very famous Master of wine in Australia, Peter Scudamore, during his wine and food tour in Sicily, he has could visit the great Volcano Etna, famous wineries, and the place where we have our vineyard, contrada LA NAVE at 1.100 meters above sea level. I want to say thank you to Peter for his article about Etna wines, and about LA NAVE and our Millesulmare of grecanico dorato that he has described with great competence and passion.
This is an extract of Peter Scudamore’s article:
LA NAVE ON MT ETNA
“The latest addition to my Mount Etna wineosphere is the brilliant white wine from the winery Santa Maria La Nave: grown on the northern slopes of the mountain.
This exciting part of Sicily continues to capture and allure international writers and sommeliers. It has to be the elevation that these local indigeneous varieties enjoy. There is freshness and a joy in the mouth. Don’t miss it!
This Santa Maria La Nave Millesulmare 2014 Sicilia DOC is special in colour: it has luminosity in the glass, masses of quartz-green glints, excellent lustre of a wine with pearl shell gloss; it “winks” at you.
The taste works a treat; and the aromas are not overt, just muted citrus and lemon rind; subtle, no more.
The citrus meet on the palate, and the sensation you find is one of linearity of acidity that goes on for ever. Note the acid succulence, respond to the salivary senses and detect the peak when the lemon essence and lemon grass acid flavours start fading. Should take ten seconds.
These vines have been around for some time but Riccardo is yet to tell me how long.
Now they are being curated and carefully propagated by massal extension, using the old process of burying one unpruned cane of an old vine into the next vine space to start re-growth. Some call the process layering.
So the vineyard must have gaps from vines which have died; now they are being replaced using a very meticulous plan.
These Etna whites have shrill acidity, and slim body, generally irrespective of the variety. They are naturally minerally, merely responding to their terroir.
Peter Scudamore-Smith MW visited Sonia Spadaro Mulone and Riccardo Mulone in Milan to interview for this project; and served this Grecanico Dorato 2014 at the opening evening dinner of Uncorked and Cultivated Sicily Wine and Food Tour 2015 in Taormina..”
For the whole article go to: http://uncorkedandcultivated.com.au/la-nave-on-mt-etna/#!prettyPhoto

In August, while we were on Mount Etna, we have received a message from SalvyBigNose, a sommelier/blogger, who lives in Scotland. SalvyBigNose had heard about our Millesulmare and, being in Sicily for his holidays, he wanted to buy few bottles for have a proper wine tasting. SalvyBigNose showed an incredible dedication, because he spent several hours in his car to come to Mount Etna and find our bottles. We appreciated his competence and his deep knowledge on Etna Wines, and we admired his deep passion for wine.
After, the famous chef Tatsumoto had a wine tasting and a pairing with Sushi and Sashimi, he sent us a video in which he talks about the characteristics of an excellent wine to pair with traditional Japanese cuisine and he includes our Millesulmare in his recommendations.

The earth remembers everything, for this reason we have to love her as a human being and she will give us her love back.
A long time ago, vine cultivation and wine production were the principal activities on Mount Etna. The ancient farmers selected the best vines, groomed the challenging lava land to cultivate. They had to clear the stones and build little walls and terraces to overcome the issues created from the Volcano and to cultivate there, where the soil was more fertile.

Our friend SUNSHINE LICHAUCO DE LEON, journalist and producer, after having visited us numerous times has send us this lovely story.
Follow Sunshine on www. sunshinedeleon.com
There is nothing like exploring Sicily through the eyes of a Sicilian. They know and love their beautiful island with a passion that is contagious and admirable. Sicilians and southern Italians do everything with extreme passion whether hate or love, and Sicilians love their home.

Last night we were contacted by some friends who wanted to congratulate us for the good article posted on the influential wine and food blog of Luciano Pignataro. We were pleasantly surprised and honored by the praises to our wines, Millesulmare and Calmarossa, written by the journalist and sommelier Fabio Panci, who tried a Calmarossa of 2011 and a vertical tasting of Millesulmare at Vinitaly.
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When we launched our website, we chose to give a more formal status to our agreements with our friends Benanti and their wonderful company, pioneer of Etnean wines of the highest quality. We present below the content of the agreement.
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I would like to dedicate the first article of this blog to our Japanese friends and their wonderful mountain, the Fuji volcano. Who visits Japan can’t help feeling amazed by the organization of its society, the cleanliness and the precision of every part of its community, where everyone does his part – a part that everyone takes really seriously. During my stay in Tokyo I was really charmed by the fish market (fish market of Tsukiji), which I visit every time I go. It deserves a visit, also in the middle of the night.
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