Over the years, I’ve watched so many trends and movements ripple across the wine world, bringing a rush of new buzzwords along with them. I pondered additive-free, low-alcohol, no-alcohol, biodynamic, natural and skin-contact wines. There were new offbeat regions to discover: wines from Armenia, Croatia and Georgia. And so many indigenous grape varieties I couldn’t learn to pronounce, tripping over Czerszegi Fuszeres from Hungary, Treixadura from Spain, Agiorgitiko from Greece.
In recent years, though, there’s been one hot wine-world trend I’ve found easy to embrace: the celebration of all things volcanic, for grapes grown in the rich soils surrounding the world’s volcanoes.
Volcanic ash soils—with their high mineral content—imbue a distinct earthy quality to a wide range of red and white grapes, adding an extra savory element with an intense minerality and saline notes. I tasted through some of the top volcanic wines recently, at a Volcanic Wines Conference in New York, bringing together producers from the Canary Islands, Cyprus, Sicily, Santorini and Pantelleria, among other black-soiled isles. All of those places share similarly harsh growing conditions, which make for tastier wines.
The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the North African coast, features some of the world’s most rugged volcanic terrain on the seven islands where vineyards grow. On El Hierro, winegrowers engage in “heroic viticulture” (another hot buzzword) tending their grapes on steep slopes 900-feet above sea level. On neighboring La Palma, where the Cumbre Vieja volcano last erupted in 2021, the vines are etched into ascending terraces. Tenerife, the capital, has some of the highest vineyards in Europe. While winegrowers on Lanzarote plant their vines in deep trenches protected from strong ocean gusts by volcanic-stone walls.
In the Greek isle of Santorini, vines are planted directly onto the side of the volcano. The grapes are nestled in vine baskets to protect them from the punishing sun and destructive wind. The vines of Mt. Etna in Sicily—perhaps the world’s famous volcanic wine region—are also dug into the side of the active volcano, which erupted in July. Many vineyards there are planted at the highest altitudes, cooling the grapes and making for especially elegant wines.
In contrast to these super savory cuvées, Pantelleria—a tiny speck in the Strait of Sicily, thirty-five nautical miles from the Tunisian coast—produces highly prized honey-sweet wines from its volcanic soil, it’s Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria) grapes dried for 18 days after harvest, as per tradition, to concentrate their sugars.
Baroness Recommends
- Tsiakkas Xynisteri ($23): Vinified from Cyprus’s indigenous variety, Xynisteri, grown in vineyards of up to 3,000 feet, this white is energetic and bright with white floral, nectarine and grapefruit aromas, plus sea salt salinity from Cyprus’s ocean breezes.
- Vinatigo Listan Blanco ($26): From high altitude vineyards in Spain’s Canary Islands, this crisp Listan Blanco has pear, guava and pineapple flavors and is mineral-driven, showcasing Tenerife’s volcanic terroir.
- Sul Vulcano Etna Bianco ($40): From Donnafugata’s vineyards on Mt. Etna, this beguiling white, made from Sicily’s indigenous Carricante grape, has mandarin citrusy aromas, flinty notes and is savory with elegant minerality. And Sul Vulcano Etna Rosso ($39), made from Nerello Moscalese, has rich raspberry and cherry flavors with a nuance of star anise.
- El Grifo Lias Malvasia Volcanica 2021 ($48): From Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, this internationally awarded Malvasia is bursting with aromas—orange blossom, jasmine, violets—and has lush flavors of passion fruit, mango and caramel. It has natural citrus acidity and mineral and saline notes.
- Terra Nera Assyrtiko ($45): From Artemis Karamolegos, one of Santorini’s off-the-beaten-path choices, this vibrant Assyrtiko—made from 50-year-old vines—possesses quince, pink grapefruit and lemon aromas, and shows marine salinity.
- Ben Ryé Passito di Pantelleria ($65): Made from Zibibbo, this dessert elixir has a bouquet of apricot, mango and papaya with hints of Mediterranean herbs. From the island of Pantelleria, it pairs well with blue cheese, foie gras and pastries. Serve chilled.
