Azienda Agricola Grottafumata - Mauro Cutuli & Mariangela Prestifilippo

Azienda Agricola Grottafumata was founded in 2013 with the management of an 8-hectare Nocellara Etnea olive grove and the resulting production of oil.

We use insects to combat pests and facilitate pollination. We do not use irrigation systems, and the many edible grasses at the base of the plants help keep the soil moist. We use a flail mower to encourage organic growth after the grasses have been grazed by the sheep. We have been cultivating a vineyard (4 hectares) since 2017, in southern Etna, on the eastern and western slopes between Zafferana Etnea, Trecastagni, and Biancavilla, at an altitude of between 500 and 840 meters above sea level. From the approximately 40-year-old bush vines, we produce wines from Nerello Mascalese, Carricante, and Grenache. The soils are sand and volcanic rock, as well as clay, tholeitic basalt, and sand. We fertilize the land with green manure from cereals and legumes. During the summer, we use copper and sulfur solutions, conifer resin, zeolite, and potassium bicarbonate to treat the plants. In the cellar, fermentation occurs spontaneously with limited doses of sulfur dioxide (between 20 and 30 mg/L). We use steel tanks and tonneaux, which are used for a year and then aged in bottle for at least two years. We are certified organic and our land is in DOC and DOP zones, but we downgrade everything to avoid bureaucracy. We experience the land as a complex system of flora and fauna, always encouraging interaction between them and ourselves.