Unlike most Etna white wines usually produced with the native Carricante, Passobianco is produced with pure Chardonnay. Upon his arrival on Etna, Andrea Franchetti planted 4 hectares of Chardonnay, all between 850m and 1000m on the steep terraces of the Contrada Guardiola, where the deep, loose soil is composed of lava ash with a high mineral content.



As soon as the 2021 harvest ended, which as usual for us lasted until the end of October, we witnessed torrential rain which caused a flood, especially in the Randazzo area. Between the end of November and the end of December we still saw rainfall in all the vineyards, cold temperatures and snow between 1200/1500 m. above sea level. A good start to the winter which created a decent water reserve in the soil.
2022 arrived with rather cold temperatures. Budding was regular and in spring the rains helped to further replenish the water reserves, which combined with the very hot temperatures of the following months contributed to a rapid development of the foliage and the vegetative state of the vine.
The remainder of the year was marked by some storms in August. On the 5th a hailstorm hit the vineyards of the hamlet of Passopisciaro, recording some losses on some parcels, but not all evils come with a silver lining! In fact, the short but intense rainfall phenomena, combined with the cool temperatures, contributed to accentuating the temperature variations, leading to optimal maturation of our Chardonnay which we harvested between 19 August and 5 September.
From the first tastings in the vineyard we immediately understood the great potential of the vintage and the guidelines for winemaking were very simple: respect the great harmony of our fruits as much as possible. 30% of the grapes were cold macerated to enhance the aromatic composition, while the rest of the grapes were pressed in whole bunches to enhance their freshness and minerality.
The alcoholic fermentation took place in steel at temperatures of 22-24 degrees. The malolactic fermentation took place in concrete tanks and the controlled temperatures allowed this phase to be overcome quickly, obtaining clean and stable wines as soon as possible.
The refinement of the wines on the fine lees took place partly in concrete tanks and partly in large oak barrels. No batonnage was carried out in order to preserve the sensation of freshness that distinguishes Passobianco.
Bottling took place on the waning moon of July 2023.
Passobianco 2022 is a very balanced and pleasant wine. Acidity, aroma and body are found naturally in the glass, and together with the mineral sensations that are the signature of the Etna area, this is a white where one sip leads to another!