Casale 120 HOSPITALITY
Wine & History
Everyday, except Mondays, we welcome wine lovers to our nineteenth-century estate along the Via Nazionale in Rovittello , just outside Linguaglossa. Our mission is to offer a welcoming hub for all and have our guests immerse in the Etna viticulture, creating memorable experiences that communicate our territory and its centuries-old traditions via our wines.
During the tour we will show you all about the Etna viticulture and the traditional Etna organic cultivation methods, touch century old vines of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio and explain a new planting of disappeared Etna vine varieties. Indulge in a memorable experience as you embark on a carefully guided tasting of Casale 120 wines, beautifully paired with a selection of local delicacies, either in the vineyard or in the historical manor. Guests are guided during the tour by the owners.
Casale 120 Winery is a small historical wine estate run since 2020 by a Sicilian-Dutch family.
Visitors can purchase our wines on site, by cash or credit card, and have them shipped directly to Italy, or abroad through specialized trusted couriers.
Etna Rosso Contrada Picciolo
Production Area: Rovittello, Etna | Northern exposure
Grapes: Nerello Mascalese 80% - Nerello Capuccio 20%
Soil: black, brownish volcanic sand; volcanic rocks
Training system: bush-training with chestnut poles
Age vineyard: dates from mid 19th century with century old vines
Average height vineyard: 670 meters above sea level
Soil: volcanic sand and rocks, fertile soil, rich in alkaline and ferrous elements
Plantation density: 8000 vine/Ha.
Yield per Ha.: 5.000 kg
Harvest: manual, half October
Vinification: fermentation in stainless steel tanks with selected indigenous yeast. Malolatic fermentation fully run.
Datasheet.pdf - Casale 120 winery Etna Rosso Contrada Picciolo 2020
Etna Bianco Crociere
Production area: Milo, Etna | from a single vineyard
Varietal: 100% Carricante
Exposure: Etna East slopes, the vineyard is at average on 870 meters a.sl. It was saved from a 1971 eruption and is now as an island closed in entirely by recent lava flows
Soil: volcanic, sandy with a large amount of ripiddu (lapilli and volcanic pumice from eruptions). The substrate is characterized by a lava plateau of considerable areal extension with a soil that is on average quite deep and scarce in skeleton
Type of cultivation: goblet bush-training whereby each vine is supported by an Etna chestnut pole
Plantation density: 6.000 vines per hectare
Cultivation method: traditional with manual cultivation, organic certified. No use of plastic material
Harvest: manual, half October
Vinification: soft pressing, static and cold decantation. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks at
controlled temperature (12-15 °C.) for 12 days. Botlled 10 months after harvest. Further ripening in bottle. Good ageing potential
Datasheet.pdf - Casale 120 winery Etna Bianco Crociere 2022
Alberello
The training system of our vineyard is the goblet or bush vine system, ‘alberello’ in Italian. This cultivation method was used principally in the Mediterranean (Italy, France, Spain, Portugal) wine regions with less rain and harsh sunlight.
Nowadays the alberello is replaced by training on vertical trellis with higher yield and allowing mechanical labor. With the alberello system all the work is manual and the quantity of harvest very low, but the grapes make an excellent base for a high quality wine.
We have chosen to maintain the traditional training system as it allows plants to keep the right balance with the environment, not needing to irrigate nor the need to use chemical pesticides. The roots can grow in big distances in search of water, making the vines more resistant to summer droughts.
The alberello system allows for good air circulation through the canopy helping in the prevention of diseases. The sprouts of each plant whilst growing, are tied to a pole (made of local chestnut from Mt. Etna) to support the branches and to improve the airing of the leaves.
These vine poles have been used since ancient times. The old name of southern Italy, Enotria, comes from the Greek word enotros meaning vine pole
Nerello Mascalese
With at least 80%, the historical indigenous grape to Mt. Etna, Nerello Mascalese is the main variety in the Etna DOC red wine. It is a dark-skinned grape variety that grows most commonly on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, at elevations up to 1000m above sea level. The variety takes its name from the Mascali plain between Mount Etna and the coast where it is thought to have originated.
The Nerello produces an elegant wine with a complex note of aromatic herbs, spice of cinnamon and red ripe berry. The palate is elegant, with a good balance among acids, sugar and tannins and a typical mineral character.
Nerello Mascalese wines are known for reflecting their unique terroir.
This grape variety has survived the phylloxera plague due to its cultivation at high altitudes on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna.
