Located on the north-western side of Etna, in the municipality of Bronte, Tartaraci is a contrada which is not included in any specific mapping: it is actually outside the DOC Etna area. 
So we went specifically to look for it. We really believe in its potential.
The vineyard is located in the highest part of the contrada, 1,000 meters above sea level, where the soils, as in the Pettinociarelle contrada, geologically belong to the ‘recent Mongibello’ activity (15,000 – 0 years ago). The soils are not very deep, mainly sandy, with a good skeleton component; the mineral endowment is medium to good and the organic substance is average. Water retention is good, so they are rather fresh soils that only rarely create drought situations for the plants. Due to its characteristics, the Tartaraci district is particularly suited to producing white wines of great character, with a marked propensity for ageing.
But we will discover this with time!
On this land there is also a small olive grove of about 100 trees, some of which are centuries old. From these we have started to produce our own oil, just as my grandparents used to do.