{"product_id":"frank-cornelissen-munjebel-bianco-2023","title":"Frank Cornelissen “Munjebel” Bianco 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSicily reads as hot-climate wine country, but Etna's northern valley gets winter snow. Cornelissen's white-grape parcels sit on the volcano's north face around Solicchiata, in the comune of Castiglione di Sicilia, on black volcanic sand and decomposed lava that drains almost instantly. At these elevations the diurnal swings hold acidity in Grecanico Dorato and Carricante deep into fall, which is why a skin-fermented white from an island off North Africa can finish with the cut of a cool-climate wine. This is farming on an active volcano: ash falls, hail strikes, and every vintage on Etna is a negotiation rather than a routine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMunjebel Bianco is a blend of Grecanico Dorato and Carricante in roughly equal parts, destemmed and given about three days of skin maceration, then fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged 16 months in neutral epoxy tanks with no oak anywhere in the process. Three days on skins builds texture without pushing into full orange-wine tannin. Ripe yellow apple, ginger, lime pith, and dried mountain herbs lead into a saline, taut palate with a light phenolic grip; the finish is wet stone and bitter citrus. 2023 was brutal here, per Cornelissen's own vintage report: May and June rain triggered downy mildew at flowering, hail followed, and the estate lost about 70 percent of its crop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank Cornelissen is a Belgian former wine trader, son of a wine broker, who settled on Etna in 2001 when the region was still an afterthought. His premise: intervene as little as possible in vineyard and cellar, and treat the farm as an ecosystem rather than a monoculture, with free-standing alberello vines interplanted with fruit trees and buckwheat, plus beehives. The name Munjebel comes from Mongibello, the old Sicilian name for Etna that fuses the Latin mons with the Arabic jabal, mountain twice over. His whites, once an afterthought even to him, now anchor the range as natural wine from Etna with real structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrilled swordfish with salmoriglio, since the wine's acidity plays the same role as the lemon-oregano sauce. Spaghetti alle vongole, where the saline finish meets clam brine head-on. Fried artichokes or arancini, because that light skin-contact grip scrubs fried richness cleanly. Roast chicken thighs with preserved lemon and green olives, matching the bitter-citrus finish. The kind of white that turns a Tuesday fish dinner into the reason you cooked at all.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Benny and Zoid","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51288829853919,"sku":null,"price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8280225.jpg?v=1787961526","url":"https:\/\/denverwinemerchant.com\/products\/frank-cornelissen-munjebel-bianco-2023","provider":"Denver Wine Merchant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}