Gustinella
The rise of Gustinella is one of perseverance and being in the right place at the right time. Sonia Gambino's adventure began in early 2020 when she left behind a city lifestyle in Milan to move to Marsala, on the South Western part of Sicily, to turn her attention to winemaking. Shortly after her move, however, Covid intervened, resulting in the loss of her new job before it even started (we've been there ourselves!). When she found herself unemployed, Sonia returned to her native Maletto, on the Western side of Mount Etna, an area more synonymous with strawberries than Nerello Mascalese. Here, she took over an old, slightly decaying property her family used as a vacation home, taking advantage of the situation in front of her by working tirelessly to fix up the place.
One afternoon, an old local farmer named Don Vincenzo, who happened to own a small vineyard but was struggling to keep up with it, asked Sonia whether she'd be interested in checking out the plot with the intention of possibly leasing it to her. Soon after, the duo found themselves clearing out a corner in Don Vincenzo's abandoned garage, and so Gustinella was born.
Today, the wines of Mount Etna are highly sought after, notably Nerello (Mascalese and Cappuccio) and Carricante, the pursued red and white grapes. However, that wasn't always the case. In a village like Maletto, where extreme weather conditions and high altitudes have made it difficult for these relatively newcomer varieties to ripen, only the indigenous Granazzu and Grecanico Dorato grapes are grown there.
The terroir in Maletto is rather unique - naturally volcanic, but due to its location, at the mercy of every eruption, which means soil composition changes. The volcanic ashes work almost as a natural fertilizer for the vines, making organic farming rather easy. Furthermore, since Maletto doesn't have large vineyards, the few scattered parcels Sonia ended up taking over were vineyards that had been farmed naturally for generations.
Typically, Etna wines tend to be delicate and elegant, but can also show great intensity and character. The production process is entirely manual and as low intervention as possible. Vinifications are delicate and carried out with the utmost respect for the grapes, without the addition of any oenological products.
One afternoon, an old local farmer named Don Vincenzo, who happened to own a small vineyard but was struggling to keep up with it, asked Sonia whether she'd be interested in checking out the plot with the intention of possibly leasing it to her. Soon after, the duo found themselves clearing out a corner in Don Vincenzo's abandoned garage, and so Gustinella was born.
Today, the wines of Mount Etna are highly sought after, notably Nerello (Mascalese and Cappuccio) and Carricante, the pursued red and white grapes. However, that wasn't always the case. In a village like Maletto, where extreme weather conditions and high altitudes have made it difficult for these relatively newcomer varieties to ripen, only the indigenous Granazzu and Grecanico Dorato grapes are grown there.
The terroir in Maletto is rather unique - naturally volcanic, but due to its location, at the mercy of every eruption, which means soil composition changes. The volcanic ashes work almost as a natural fertilizer for the vines, making organic farming rather easy. Furthermore, since Maletto doesn't have large vineyards, the few scattered parcels Sonia ended up taking over were vineyards that had been farmed naturally for generations.
Typically, Etna wines tend to be delicate and elegant, but can also show great intensity and character. The production process is entirely manual and as low intervention as possible. Vinifications are delicate and carried out with the utmost respect for the grapes, without the addition of any oenological products.
Gustinella's wines
Sorry, there are no wines available from this producer. Yet.