American-born Marc de Grazia might be unknown to most wine lovers, but he played an important role in Italy's modern wine scene. He started his import business in 1980 to introduce Americans to exciting new worlds of Italian wine. He quickly honed in on producers who challenged the old ways by making wines of both great finesse and substance that could a stage with the greats of France. In the early 2000s he got more directly involved with that when he started Tenuta delle Terre Nere, helping put the dramatic wines of Sicily's active volcano, Mt. Etna, on the international stage.
The high altitudes on the hilly slopes of Mt. Etna, along with the native Nerello Mascalese (and a dash of Cappuccio) make for intense, aromatic wines that alternately recall Burgundy's Pinot Noirs and Barolo/Barbaresco's Nebbiolos. With distinct local climates and a grape variety that reflects them acutely, he promoted the bottling of single vineyard districts. One of those now-famous sites, San Lorenzo, is one that Marc refers to as a 'grand cru' in analogy with Burgundy. It has the coolest climate for the red varieties on Etna, with soil that's very rich in volcanic ash, leading to that magical combination of power, energy and elegance at once. Organically farmed.
The high altitudes on the hilly slopes of Mt. Etna, along with the native Nerello Mascalese (and a dash of Cappuccio) make for intense, aromatic wines that alternately recall Burgundy's Pinot Noirs and Barolo/Barbaresco's Nebbiolos. With distinct local climates and a grape variety that reflects them acutely, he promoted the bottling of single vineyard districts. One of those now-famous sites, San Lorenzo, is one that Marc refers to as a 'grand cru' in analogy with Burgundy. It has the coolest climate for the red varieties on Etna, with soil that's very rich in volcanic ash, leading to that magical combination of power, energy and elegance at once. Organically farmed.
