Volcanic wines and volcanic curries seem like a natural match. It was exciting to find this Etna Bianco on the wine list at my favorite neighborhood Thai spot.
Made from 100% Carricante, Alta Mora’s Etna Bianco grows on the foothills of Mount Etna. (Before wine, this is a place I was familiar with only from its near-daily appearance in the New York Times crossword.) Brothers Diego and Alberto Cusumano have chosen this dramatic landscape to build a lava rock cellar for wine-making and to nurture their native Sicilian vines.
What is the perfect food wine? It’s a wine that still acts like itself throughout the meal. It doesn’t startle and shrink away, becoming a shy mixture of water and booze after the first bite.
Yet, like a good dinner party guest, a food wine knows when to take its pauses–speaking and being silent in turns, allowing everyone at the table a moment to shine.
This fresh and refined white wine opens with light florals, yellow grapefruit, lemon curd, and barely-ripe peach. Mineral notes of ocean breeze and slate rocks, too. The first sips are of concentrated citrus with elevated acidity, lean body (medium-minus) and a lengthy saline finish.
Light lees aging (4 months in stainless steel tanks) is evident from the get-go–but it’s marvelously subtle, giving texture and some unexpected complementary flavors. Baked croissant and mandarin peel hint at richness, before stepping aside for green apricot, firm peaches, green melon with rind, and light pineapple. Even at room temperature it retains its tropical freshness. The pronounced minerality lets the fruit flavors sparkle and sing for entire minutes–at least until it’s the shrimp salad’s turn to chime in.
Speaking of food? Alta Mora’s Etna Bianco was a killer pick with Thai food from Bambu, its modest alcohol and crisp acidity supporting every dish. We savored it with fried squid legs, shrimp with shredded mango, and braised lamb in yellow curry. It even worked with dessert, lending a vibrant pineapple note to a salted black rice pudding. The wine earned top marks for its ability to partner with food–but it would be equally lovely sipped alone as an apertif.
My dinner companion likened this wine to an expertly made Sauvignon Blanc. (And that’s how I probably would have called it in a blind, too–the variety Carricante isn’t exactly on the tip of my tongue.) In any case, it’s an ideal choice for those who like a clean, super-dry white that knows how to share a table with seafood and spice.
Lately, I’ve been seeing Etna Bianco on local menus as an alternative to those shockingly expensive (and frankly unimaginative) bottles of Sancerre. Nobody wants to pay $100+ for a wine that’s sort of meant to not be noticed. And although I’m certainly charmed by New Zealand Sauvy B, with all its personality and its gusto it can be a bit of a conversation hog. So, bring on the Etna Bianco! This zesty, versatile style is a restaurant wine trend that we’d love to see more of.
Bottle: Alta Mora Etna Bianco (2022) – Sicily, Italy
Variety: Carricante (100%)
ABV: 12.5%
Suggested retail: $27.99
My rating: 9.2 (out of 10)
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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