Andrea Franchetti was one of the first producers to arrive on Etna in 2000. Here, on the northern side, he found ancient semi-abandoned vineyards, all 70 and 100 years old, trained as saplings, and was able to choose a good selection of old vineyards scattered on the slopes of the mountain at different heights between 550m and 1000m above sea level. The Nerello Mascalese grapes used for Passorosso come from the districts of Malpasso, Guardiola, Santo Spirito, Favazza and Arcuria. In general, the higher Contrade lie on gravelier, coarser-grained soils, while the lower ones on finer and deeper soils composed of older lava flows, now oxidized and reduced to lava powder.

Passorosso, which until recently was called Passopisciaro, is composed of a blend of Nerello Mascalese grapes coming from different vineyards located at different altitudes. This wine concentrates the characteristics of different terroirs in a single bottle to offer a global idea of a territory. The wine is aged in large oak barrels for 18 months and then bottled without being filtered. The result is a bright, crunchy and mineral wine, with notes of citrus and red fruits, which with age tends to lose color and become enriched with aromas of camphor, sandalwood and spices. The first vintage was produced in 2001. With the 2014 vintage Passorosso becomes Etna Rosso DOC.