Frank Cornelissen “Susucaru” Rosso 2024
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The Land
The most famous natural red on Etna does not say Etna on the label: Susucaru is bottled as IGP Terre Siciliane, because Frank Cornelissen would rather blend freely across contrade than follow DOC rules. The fruit comes from six sites on the volcano's northern valley — Picciolo, Malpasso, Campo Re, Crasà, Piano Daini, and Feudo di Mezzo — where Cornelissen farms vineyards between 650 and 980 meters. Black volcanic sand drains fast and holds heat by day, while altitude pulls temperatures down hard at night, which is how Nerello Mascalese ripens fully yet keeps its acidity this far south. The 2024 season tested that system: a snowless winter, severe drought, and a harvest that started up to two weeks early, relieved by late-August rains that let the vines finish.
The Wine
A field blend of 85 percent Nerello Mascalese with Nerello Cappuccio, Minnella, Alicante Bouschet, and Uva Francesa, made the old Etna way — different varieties, different contrade, one tank. Grapes are destemmed and lightly crushed, fermentation starts from a pied-de-cuve of indigenous yeasts, and the wine sits on its skins for about 30 days before aging in neutral epoxy tanks of 2,500 to 7,000 liters. No fining; a coarse 3-micron cartridge filtration before bottling; sulfur ranges from 15 to 50 mg/l depending on the year's stability. Pale garnet in the glass, it leads with sour cherry, blood orange peel, crushed lava-rock dust, and dried herbs, then runs light-bodied and fluid with fine, sandy tannin and a saline, peppery finish. Serve it cool.
The People
Frank Cornelissen is a Belgian former wine trader who settled in Solicchiata on Etna's north slope and bottled his first vintage in 2001, entirely self-taught. His roughly 24-hectare estate includes 13 hectares of old alberello-trained vines, farmed without synthetic chemicals and with as little intervention as he can manage — his stated goal is wine as a pure transmission of territory, not a product of cellar technique. Susucaru, first made in 2003 and now about 35,000 bottles a year, is his entry point: the wine that carried Etna's natural wine movement into shops and restaurants worldwide.
Food Pairing
Pasta alla Norma — fried eggplant, tomato, ricotta salata — matches the wine's acidity to the tomato and its volcanic salinity to the cheese. Grilled swordfish with salmoriglio works because this red is light and tannin-soft enough for fish, and the lemon-oregano sauce echoes its citrus edge. Charred sausage and radicchio off the grill picks up the smoke and bitter-cherry line. Slightly chilled, it is the red you open on a Tuesday when dinner is whatever the market had — and it keeps up.
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Sicily, Italy’s largest island, blends ancient wine traditions with a fresh wave of modern creativity. Its star red grape, Nero d’Avola, thrives in the island’s warm, sun-soaked climate, producing intensely flavored wines with dark fruit and a hint of savory spice. Along the western coast lies the historic heartland of Marsala, a fortified wine prized for both sweet and dry styles. Rising above the island’s varied landscapes is Mount Etna, an active volcano whose mineral-rich soils and cooler elevations result in elegantly structured reds and nuanced whites. From coast to crater, Sicily’s wine culture is as diverse and vibrant as the region itself.
Italy - Sicily
Named for its pale color and hometown of Mascali, Nerello Mascalese is a rising star in the wine world. Indigenous to Mount Etna, it was overlooked for decades until recently the world has taken notice of the elegant yet powerfully minerally wines produced on the volcanic slopes. Think halfway between Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo.
